Marcia Manhart
2003 Distinguished Alumna, BFA 1965, MS 1971
Work: Retired Executive Director, The Philbrook Museum.
FAVORITES
- Hobby: Gourmet cooking, restoration projects, needlepoint, knitting, gardening.
- Book: Nonfiction or fictional biographies and history.
- Reading: Girl in Hyacinth Blue, by Susan Vreeland and Bel Canto, by Ann Patchett.
- Vacation: Italy, Mexico.
LIFE LESSONS
- What was the best advice you ever received?
Speak “plain and simple English,” no jargon. Bill Flint gave me this advice about 20 years ago. - Cure for the Blues?
Go to the beach, or work harder and longer. - After living in Tulsa for so long, how does it feel to be in Texas?
Great! After 30 years of being synonymous with Philbrook, I decided that I needed a new life. I spent about five years exploring different places, and decided on the Texas Hill Country and Fredericksburg. My best friend, Chica, who is the mother of my son-in-law, lives in Fredericksburg with her family who are my extended family (my parents are both deceased). It is a beautiful part of the country and has a terrific climate. Chica’s father purchased a house several years ago that had a lot next to it and suggested that I no longer had any excuses to not build. So I bought the lot and worked with an architect in Tulsa (Jack McSorley) to design my home and studio. It’s a contemporary-styled farmhouse that incorporates many of the traditional elements of Fredericksburg: metal roof with a Victorian cresting; and three wings, each with a different surface - Texas limestone, stucco, and corrugated metal. - Is retirement what you expected?
I don’t miss the everyday stress. I do miss the relationships from Philbrook and Tulsa. I can’t wait to get my new house completed, move-in, and get my hands into clay. This will be my new vocation after many years absence. (My last work was shown in 1974 at the American Craft Museum in New York.) Whatever evolves is what it will be. I’m not really retired, I’m just doing something different! - What would your acquaintances be surprised to know about you?
I have “group phobia!” Strange to have been in the business I’ve been in and not like to be in large groups, but I don’t and feel suffocated and get panic attacks. - What are you most proud of?
My children, grandchildren, and my accomplishments at Philbrook. - What four people would you invite to dinner, and what would you ask them?
Thomas Jefferson: How would you reorganize our government today? D.H. Lawrence: Our society has become highly technological and less humanized. How do think this could have been prevented or for both to occur harmoniously? Margaret Thatcher: What do you believe distinguishes you as one of the great political negotiators and idea implementers? Julia Child. You have been the most influential person in the 20th century on food and cooking. How do we sustain that passion?