Opening Hours
10am to 4:30pm Wednesday - Friday
1pm to 4:30pm Saturday & Sunday
Closed Monday and Tuesday

The Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum is a non-profit organization founded around the work of American sculptor Charles Umlauf. Their work is dedicated to providing educational experiences that encourage the understanding and appreciation of sculpture.

About the Museum

In 1985, Charles and Angeline Umlauf gave their home, studio, and 168 pieces of Umlauf sculpture to the City of Austin. Six years later, in 1991, a new museum was built on adjoining city property with private funds raised under the leadership of Austin arts patron Roberta Crenshaw.

In a successful partnership between Austin's private and public sectors, the Friends of the Umlauf Sculpture Garden organization funds, manages, and maintains the Museum while the City's Parks and Recreation Department maintains the xeriscape garden.

During the hours that the museum is open to the public, it is staffed entirely with volunteers. The Friends of the Umlauf Sculpture Garden organization continues to seek out additional funds for the Umlauf Sculpture Garden Endowment, a fund set up within the Austin Community Foundation. The interest generated by this fund makes up a significant part of our operating budget.

The full range of Charles Umlauf's incredible work can be seen in both permanent and changing exhibitions inside the museum as well as outside in a wheelchair accessible garden.

About the Sculptor

More than 130 sculptures, drawings & paintings by Charles Umlauf, a prolific and internationally known sculptor, are on display at the Umlauf Sculpture Garden & Museum.

Umlauf's sculptures range from detailed realism to lyrical abstractions. His materials are equally diverse, from the exotic woods and terra cotta or cast stone of his earlier pieces, to the rich bronzes and alabasters or luminous marbles of his prime. With equal facility, Umlauf sculpted family groupings (particularly mothers and children), delightful animals, religious and mythological figures, and sensuous nudes.

Charles Julius Umlauf was born on a farm outside South Haven, Michigan, in 1911, the sixth of eight children born to French and German immigrant parents. When he was eight, the family moved to Chicago. Umlauf's fourth grade teacher soon recognized his artistic talents and took him to the Art Institute of Chicago where he was given summer scholarships. After high school Umlauf studied at both the Art Institute and the Chicago School of Sculpture. In 1937, he married Angeline Allen, a fellow student at the Art Institute.

In 1941, the couple moved to Austin, Texas, where Charles had agreed to join the new art department at the University of Texas as a sculpture instructor. He taught there for 40 years, retiring as professor emeritus in 1981.

During his career, Umlauf was awarded nearly every professional award, including both a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Ford Foundation Grant. In Texas, he was honored in 1985 by the Houston Art League as "Texas Artist of the Year" and in 1993 by the City of San Antonio as "Alcalde."

Umlauf's work can be seen in public collections and museums across the United States, including the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. and the Metropolitan Museum in New York City. In Texas, there are more of his sculptures in public placements than work by any other single sculptor.