Three Floors, Three Themes: Land, Identity, and Opportunity

Visitors enter through the rotunda, where they see—and likely walk across—the mosaic “Born Around the Campfires of Our Past,” by Texas artist Robert Ritter. This colorful piece includes the state’s flora and fauna, while also depicting those who have shaped Texas history. These representative individuals— Buffalo Soldiers, Vaqueros, Conquistadores, Missionaries, American Indians—are sitting around a campfire, presumably telling stories of their people and the land.

Some of these stories are told on the first floor of the Museum, which highlights “The Land,” the sprawling, geographically diverse region that is now Texas. Visitors learn of the early nomadic peoples, the exploration of the territory, the cultivation of the soil, and the battles that took place in—and for control of—the region. The centerpiece of this floor, however, involves a sea-faring vessel, La Belle, a French ship that ran aground and was disabled in Matagorda Bay in 1685. The Spanish found the “broken ship” the next year, but after salvaging items from it, La Belle was abandoned, forgotten, and underwater—for more than 300 years.

It was rediscovered in 1995, and much of its skeletal structure and more than 1.5 million artifacts from the ship were recovered. Indeed, the storage capacity of the modestsized ship was staggering; among the many items it carried were more than 600,000 beads, 1,500 brass rings, and 100,000-plus pounds of gunpowder. Some of these items are spectacular: a colander, which looks like it could have been lifted from a 20th-century kitchen; a helmet with fine etchings; and, perhaps most impressive, an exquisitely detailed crucifix.

Interestingly, the Bullock Museum is a noncollecting museum, which means that the artifacts on display are on loan from collectors, including other museums. Sam Houston Memorial Museum (SHMM), for example, has, according to former Director Mac Woodward, “loaned the Bullock Museum artifacts such as Sam Houston’s leopard (jaguar) vest, Santa Anna’s chamber pot, and other items of historical interest.” This type of arrangement benefits both museums. It offers new artifacts to the Bullock Museum for display, while providing exposure to the SHMM and its holdings.

Of course, this also means that artifacts leave the Bullock Museum periodically, to be replaced by items loaned from other sources. In the case of La Belle, however, the vessel has been a mainstay since its installation, and Museum staff note that their custodianship of their first-floor centerpiece is “very long-term.”

For many, the second floor, which tackles the state’s quest for “Identity,” is the most intriguing and familiar. It is here visitors will learn about Stephen F. Austin’s journey to Texas and the work that made him the “Father of Texas;” see Elisabet Ney’s “Sam Houston” statue; follow narratives of the Alamo and the Battle of San Jacinto; and explore the state’s tumultuous early days in the Union and unfortunate time in the Confederate States of America. Interpreters are occasionally on hand to provide information about the era or one of the Museum’s many artifacts.

The third floor of the Museum showcases collections that reflect the state as a land of “Opportunity.” The state’s oil industry is featured; ranching and farming are discussed; air and space exploration are highlighted; Texas’ first-class medical facilities are spotlighted; and Texas’ contribution to music are showcased. Images of and facts about notable Texans—from Farrah Fawcett to Michael DeBakey—are on display.

Looming large amidst these three floors is the omni-visible Goddess of Liberty. This artifact is the original statue that sat atop the Texas Capitol until 1985, when she was replaced by a younger, aluminum alloy replica. Following a brief tour of parts of Texas and some cosmetic surgery, this original Goddess was put on display in the Museum in 2001.

The Museum describes her as “formidable,” which is true, but it is also true that she was not chosen for her beauty. Rather, her features were purposefully exaggerated—protruding lips, a gherkin nose, and a brow that would embarrass a caveman—to provide shape to a face designed to be viewed from afar. These features are particularly emphatic when seen up close, which is the view from almost anywhere in the Museum. Standing at more than 15-feet tall, she continues to command Texans’ attention.

Theaters and Rotating Exhibits

The Museum features entertainment options in the form of an IMAX theatre, which occasionally offers movies or documentaries that reflect the theme of Texas, special exhibitions, or other “educational” fare. Currently, for example, they are showing films on the Serengeti, the Arctic, and dinosaurs. For pure entertainment, they are also offering AntMan and the Wasp: Quantumania In the smaller, multi-sensory “Texas Spirit Theatre,” visitors can view Shipwrecked to learn more about La Belle or The Star of Destiny, to brush up on key events in Texas history. The Museum also has gallery space for rotating exhibitions. With 2023 being the 100th anniversary of the Texas State Park System, the Bullock is featuring artwork capturing the beauty, mystery, and diversity of the state’s many parks and historical sites. The 34 paintings on view reflect a sample of the 65 works commissioned by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for this centenary. The works, according to Museum staff, “prompt meaningful reflection on the natural beauty of public lands and their significance as places of solace, rejuvenation, recreation, and refuge.”

One of these paintings, undertaken by Lee Jamison, highlights a public site of great significance: the San Jacinto battlefield. The landscape was undertaken from a flattering angle, one that deemphasizes the region’s swampy terrain and minimizes the prominence of refineries and their attendant smoke plumes. What is depicted is a painting of variegated grasses and multihued plants, and a blue sky, composed in a horizontal landscape punctuated by a vertical monument to the State’s aspirational culture.

This quiet and beautiful scene depicting marsh grasses and woods, according to Jamison, somewhat disguises “the grim realities of the longago Battle,” which reflected, among other things, poor planning on Santa Anna’s part. But the “nature of the land contributed to the outcome of the battle,” continues Jamison, and therefore may “provide insight into our park system and the influence of the land on our state culture.”

The “Art of Texas State Parks” will remain on display through April 30.

Reflections

Apart from the Museum’s name, Bob Bullock maintains a presence in the structure. A bronze statue of the long-serving state official stands on the second floor, gavel in hand, in front of a limestone wall engraved with the words, “God Bless Texas,” a reminder of the force and the sentiment behind the Museum.

Bullock’s statue faces eastward, toward newly redesigned exterior grounds. The Lone Star Plaza remains, along with its large, bronze starshaped sculpture. But gone is a three-block portion of Congress Avenue; in its place is a pedestrian promenade that, with surrounding buildings, makes up the “Texas Mall.” This Mall will, according to its designers, serve as the “northern gateway to the Capitol,” where Bob Bullock once labored as Lieutenant Governor, and where, in 1995, he first discussed the idea of the state history museum that now bears his name.

By: James M. Bright, Attorney at Law

Once we reach the age of 50-55, the self-proclaimed Revocable Living Trust (RLT) experts seem to come out of the woodwork, descending upon us like locusts and telling us that we need a RLT if we love our families. (We are even made to feel that if we do not have a RLT we might be the type of person who might even kick the dog.)

Contrary to this conclusion, it is this firm’s experience that many people love their spouses, cherish their children and never kick dogs without having a RLT. When I am approached to draft this type of trust, my first question is,” What purpose is it to serve?” There are many good reasons for a RLT but there are also many reasons that favor a different approach. The big question is, “What are you attempting to accomplish?”

There can be many reasons for having a trust; “in fact,” most of the Wills that this firm prepares have a testamentary trust, but trusts (RLT, Non-revocable or Testamentary) need to solve a particular problem.

Having a testamentary trust in your Will that serves a particular purpose is far different than making a RLT the primary instrument in your estate planning. Some of the false or misleading reasons given for having RLTs that this firm hears include:

My children will pay inheritance taxes unless they inherit in a trust – This assertion is very misleading because most Texas estates do not pay inheritance taxes in the first place. Under current laws, your estate pays no federal estate tax on the first $12,920,000 ($25,840,000) for a married couple, whether you have a trust or not.

A trust will save legal fees –

*Sometimes true – If every asset of every kind owned by an individual inclusive of every bank account, piece of real property, automobile, brokerage account and every other thing that was owned by that individual is captured by the trust and titled in the name of the trust, then you will avoid probate, but that is not usually what happens. In addition to a RLT, you should have a “pour-over Will.” This type of Will is intended to capture everything you own at the time of death and pour it over into the trust for planned distribution.

*Usually False - if your trust does not capture assets, it will actually cost more in both time and money than a welldrafted Will. You will bear the meticulous burden of keeping the assets in the trust for years, and your family will still need to go through probate for the pour over Will. Probate will take years– Ordinarily this is NOT TRUE Texas has very reasonable laws regarding probate. A probate proceeding with a Will can take as few as three weeks, but on an average, based on this firm’s experience, about 45 days from the time that your probate attorney is contacted until you have “Letters Testamentary,” giving the executor power to act, and all reporting to the Court has been completed.

Probate is very expensive and will take a percentage of the estate is a false statement. Most attorneys charge an hourly fee, and a few (including my firm) will quote you a onetime flat fee. Percentage fees in probate are considered taboo.

My beneficiary is a spendthrift and will waste the inheritance if not placed in trust. This is a very common problem that can just as easily be handled in a testamentary trust as it can in a RLT. The difference being that you do not need to go through the arduous task of keeping all of your property titled in the RLT during your lifetime.

This firm is not declaring war on RLTs. “In fact,” they are very often the best way to settle an estate. What this article is intended to do is to say, that “they are not the only tool in the box.” It may be the proper tool and it may not be, depending on your particular circumstances. For instance, if you own real property in more than one state, a RLT, at least as regards that particular asset, might be the best and least expensive solution.

The determination of which tools are best to use in particular circumstances are best done with the guidance of an attorney of your choice who is experienced with wills, trusts and probate. The best results are not always accomplished with someone soliciting your business through telephone calls, mailers, dinner invitations or even well-meaning family or friends.

As always, it is recommended that you talk to an attorney of your choice rather than one who solicited you through a phone call, mailer or dinner invitation.