HOUSTON, TX.- The historic home of Dora Maar, muse to Pablo Picasso, who gave her an 18th-century stone house in southern France, is now home to The Brown Foundation Fellows Program at Dora Maar House. This international program, for artists, critics, and professionals in the arts and humanities, is offered by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston under the guidance of Peter C. Marzio, director. The fellowships offer outstanding mid-career professionals the opportunity to further their artistic and scholarly work in the tranquil environment of the village of Ménerbes, located in the Luberon region of Provence about 40 kilometers southeast of Avignon. Applications for one- to three-month fellowships beginning on July 1 and ending no later than December 15, 2008, are now being accepted. A second cycle of fellowships, with applications due on November 15, will begin on February 1, 2009.

Each fellow is accommodated in the Dora Maar House, and is provided with a study or studio in which to work; travel expenses from the Fellow’s home to Ménerbes and return; reasonable shipping expenses for books and supplies; and a grant based upon the length of stay at the Dora Maar House. In return, Fellows are asked to be good neighbors to the citizens of Ménerbes and to do some sort of public program while in residence; to donate to the house one work of art or publication created while in residence. Should a publication ensue based on work during the fellowship, The Brown Foundation Fellows Program at Dora Maar House asks to be recognized in the publication’s acknowledgements.

The four-story house is the former residence of Dora Maar, photographer, poet, and painter, and perhaps best-known as Picasso’s mistress and muse in the late 1930s and early 1940s. The home has been fully renovated and updated, and is located in the heart of the 1,200-person village. It has four bedrooms with private baths, a studio for artists, three studies for writers, and a piano. It also has two beautiful gardens, a large kitchen, dining, library, and living rooms. The house is equipped with high-speed, wireless Internet. The village has long been known for attracting artists, and is home to an international community of painters, musicians, filmmakers, actors, and writers.

Katherine Howe, director of Rienzi and curator of decorative arts at the MFAH, is director of The Brown Foundation Fellows Program at the Dora Maar House. Gwen Strauss, who is based in Ménerbes, is assistant director.

For information about the application requirements and to obtain an application form, visit www.mfah.org or call 713-639-7300.