Judy Nyquist remains a staunch champion for the arts
The faux black mouse on Judy Nyquist’s Cinderella staircase in her River Oaks home is there for laughs.
Nyquist knows it might rattle the most skittish visitor, but the word “creep” painted nearby on a stair riser indicates it’s all in fun. It’s also part of her eclectic art collection that’s part humorous, part thoughtful and mostly inspiring.
An art historian, curator and civic arts activist, Nyquist has served on the boards and committees of the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, The Menil Collection, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Glassell School of Art, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft and Rice University Public Art Program.
Today, she’s one of the city’s noted art patrons and has been a champion for arts education and exposing larger audiences to art. She’s also an advocate for art in public spaces and local parks, such as Buffalo Bayou, Discovery Green and Hermann Park.
Many of the pieces in her home were created and crafted by artists she’s crossed paths with over the years. Their work is meant to be observed, pondered or admired, she said.
The living room features an Adam Pendleton installation of a quote from the novel “Jazz,” by author Toni Morrison. In the family room, there’s a framed McDonald’s repurposed french-fry package covered with glitter by Tony Feher that resembles something Diana Ross would wear.
“I’m in awe of artists, and they are geniuses,” Nyquist said. “Their art is something to enjoy and revel in. I bring pieces into my house that will make me smile, challenge me or make me think.”
Other thought-provoking pieces including a large, vintage neon light in the shape of an ice cream cone, a floorto-ceiling glass display of Hermès Birkin bags made of colored paper by paper artist Matthew Sporzynzki and a feminist piece of three framed apron artworks that read, “House Wife” by British artist Ellen Bell.
Funny thing, though, the 50-something Nyquist never wanted to be an artist. Her talent lies in her ability to appreciate art in all of its forms and be a champion for local artists.
When she was just 13, her parents, who were scientists, moved Nyquist and her twin brother, Danny, and younger sister, Kathy, from their Michigan home to the Netherlands, where they visited every museum, cathedral and historical monument. They also spent time browsing through historical places throughout Europe, and soon, Nyquist realized she wanted to devote her life to art and art history.
She went on to earn a degree in art history at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Mich., then a master’s in art history at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.
After graduation, Nyquist moved to Washington, D.C., to work as a cu- rator of architecture and design for the American Institute of Architects. She stayed there for eight years, in a job she loved, until she fell in love with her high school sweetheart, Scott Nyquist. They met in band class; she played the clarinet and he, the trombone.
Nyquist eventually moved to London, where Scott worked as a management consultant, and they were married at St. Paul’s Cathedral, where Princess Diana tied the knot, though in a smaller chapel within the cathedral.
For 10 years, the Nyquists called London home.
“I loved everything about London,” she said. “I didn’t even mind the traffic or the rain. It was a visual bouquet of everything every time you walked out of the front door.”
In 1998, they relocated to Houston with their three young children ( Jessica, Jake and Sarah are now in their early 20s) when Scott took a job here, and Nyquist immersed herself in the local art scene.
She’s also known in stylish circles for her signature white mane, as enviable as Meryl Streep’s glistening, coiffed hairdo in the “Devil Wears Prada.”
“My hair started turning white when I was just 13,” she said. “It started with a white streak, but I never dyed it. It was all white after my kids were born.”
This nonfussy attitude about hair translates to almost every aspect of her life, even her style. For all of the fancy affairs she frequents, Nyquist doesn’t own a ballgown. Not one.
“I’m very conservative, casual and simple. You look around my home, and there’s a lot of color, but not of lot of embellishment, even on me.”