Nickolas Muray, Collector
Art and Intellectual Networks
FALL 2026
In a 1963 letter to the director of the Ransom Center, Nickolas Muray described the film he shot in 1926 of Eugene O’Neill on vacation with his family, in which the noted portrait photographer sought to capture the publicly somber playwright’s relaxed private persona. The film was acquired by the Ransom Center—and shortly before his death in 1965, Muray also arranged for his important collection of artworks, created by his friends, to find a permanent home at the Center.
Today, as the Nickolas Muray Collection of Mexican Art, Muray’s assemblage of paintings and works on paper by Frida Kahlo, Rufino Tamayo, Miguel Covarrubias, and other noted artists offers viewers and researchers what the short film of O’Neill offers: a window into the personal relationships and broader social contexts of artistic creation and circulation. This exhibition presents the artworks Muray collected and lived with for decades, drawing together such works as Frida Kahlo’s Self-portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird and Miguel Covarrubias’s original illustrations for Vanity Fair’s "Impossible Interviews" with personal letters and other archival materials. More than a showcase of an important collection, this exhibition highlights broader reverberations across the Ransom Center’s art, literature, and performing arts holdings, illuminating a rich context of creative networks.
This exhibition is organized by Dr. Tracy Bonfitto, Curator of Art.
Any views, findings, recommendations or conclusions expressed in this exhibition do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.