Letter from Joseph S. Cullinan to Houston Art League
Date
1916-06-22Description
Letter form Joseph S. Cullinan to Mrs. Gentry Waldo, President of
the Houston Art League, anonymously donating funds necessary to cover the costs of
obtaining a building site from the estate of George Hermann, in accordance with
Hermann's wishes expressed prior to his death. The letter is contained in the scrapbook
of the Houston Art League, 1900-1924.
Citation
Abstract
A leader in the oil industry, Joseph S. Cullinan first founded the
Magnolia Petroleum Company before becoming a founding partner and president of Texaco.
The Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Houston Negro Hospital and the Museum of Fine Arts,
Houston all benefitted from his philanthropic support. Cullinan served as a special
advisor to the Food Administration under Herbert Hoover during World War I. He died of
while visiting the former president in California. The Houston Art League is the
predecessor of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.