SAN ANTONIO, TX.- McNay Art Museum presents “Designing Shakespeare through the Ages,” on view March 27-July 6. The exhibition examines the changing conversations surrounding William Shakespeare’s plays.

More than 85 works come together to promote understanding around the legacy of Shakespeare’s work, including maquettes, paintings and works on paper from the McNay’s Tobin Collection of Theatre Arts. Through the designs of “Hamlet,” “Macbeth,” “Romeo and Juliet,” “The Tempest,” “Twelfth Night,” “Othello,” “The Merchant of Venice” and “King Lear,” the exhibition explores the plays’ respective themes, revealing a different facet to the human condition while pointing to the enduring influence of Shakespeare in popular culture.


Eugene Berman, Scene design for "To Be or Not To Be" in Hamlet, 1966. Watercolor and ink on paper. Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Gift of The Tobin Theatre Arts Fund. TL2010.10.2


The exhibition also takes a close look at the ways Shakespeare’s writings have influenced the current cultural landscape in the centuries since his death. The designs of several stage plays, including those of San Pedro Playhouse’s 2024 production of “Midsummer Sueño,” as well as designs from other productions of plays inspired by Shakespeare’s works, reinforce Shakespeare’s influence in the work of today’s artists. Further underscoring the relevance of the iconic playwright, the exhibition features a soundtrack including pop songs, scores for ballets and operas and other works of classical music inspired by his many plays and poems.

“By bringing together Shakespeare’s texts with visual designs, local productions and pop culture, we hope to make the complex literature more accessible,” said Remus Moore, The Tobin Theatre Arts Fund assistant curator. “Visitors will come away with a deeper appreciation for Shakespeare, whose continuing influence is apparent across time and artistic forms.”


Edward Gordon Craig, The Storm in King Lear, 1920. Woodcut. Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Gift of Margaret Batts Tobin. TL1988.1.204


The McNay is partnering with local community organizations to enhance the visitor experience and foster deeper understanding of the literary works. In collaboration with the San Pedro Playhouse, the exhibition will feature an array of workshops related to theatre arts, where participants gain hands-on experience in costume design and acting.

The McNay’s Tobin Collection of Theatre Arts includes more than 10,000 paintings, works on paper, maquettes and sculpture and 2,000 rare books of European and American theatre design from 1600 to the present. The collection is the life’s work and continued legacy of its namesake, the late philanthropist Robert L. B. Tobin, who was devoted to the celebration of visual arts in the theatre.


Holmes Easley, Scene design with witches in Act I, scene 1, in Macbeth, ca. 1970. Watercolor, casein, and pastel on board. Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Bequest of Holmes Easley. TL2004.10.2


“Designing Shakespeare through the Ages” is organized for the McNay Art Museum by Remus Moore, The Tobin Theatre Arts Fund assistant curator, The Tobin Collection of Theatre Arts, with René Paul Barilleaux, head of curatorial affairs.

This exhibition is a program of the Tobin Theatre Arts Fund.