Buie Harwood and Anna Brightman collection

Born in Charleston, South Carolina, Buie Harwood is the daughter of Zenobia Frith Pratt and Robert Hewitt Harwood, jr., as well as the granddaughter of Mary Buie Frith Pratt Turner. From 1961-1963, Buie Harwood worked toward and received a major in painting at Randolph Macon Woman’s College - the same college attended by her mother and grandmother.

In 1965, Buie Harwood received a “Professional Design Diploma, Interior Design” from Ray-Vogue Schools in Chicago, expanding on her professional training. Harwood received a BFA in 1972 and MFA in 1973 from the interior design program at Louisiana Tech University. While at Louisiana Tech University, Harwood continued to travel and showcase her interest in interior design through student presentations, exhibits, and art shows.

In 1973, Buie Harwood accepted an Associate Professorship at The University of Texas at Austin Interior Design Program -- which is now under the School of Architecture. While at The University of Texas at Austin, Buie Harwood collaborated with Anna Brightman in the coordination of the Winedale Institute in Historic Preservation, a summer program that allowed students and faculty to participate in research and documentation of historic 19th and early 20th century architecture, interiors, and furniture at the Winedale Historic Site in Round Top, Texas. After its opening, Harwood taught at Winedale for several summers. Buie Harwood served at The University of Texas at Austin as an Associate Professor until 1981.

Buie Harwood completed several notable projects during her time in Austin, where in addition to her academic career, she acted as an interior design consultant. Buie Harwood often collaborated with colleague Betty McKee Treanor, an interior designer and University of Texas at Austin Assistant Professor. Harwood and McKee Treanor’s collaborations include a 1976 restoration of historic ceiling wallpaper in the front parlor of the House of Seasons in Jefferson, Texas. Their work on this project was featured in Texas Homes magazine, and their painting reproductions joined the archives of the Cooper Hewitt Museum of Decorative Arts in New York City. From March 1977 to May 1978, Harwood and McKee Treanor completed the painting and design of historic decorative wall friezes in the living room, parlor, dining room, and the ceiling medallion of the entry in the Weinert-Lovett House in Seguin, Texas. From December 1980 to January 1982, the pair went on to restore the decorative ceiling in the Welch Hall Chemistry Building at The University of Texas at Austin. Harwood’s consultant projects also include the 1979 interior restoration of the home of Peter T. Flawn, former president of The University of Texas at Austin, and interior painting work of the Walter Tips House, relocated and restored as new office space by Franklin Savings Association in 1975.

Buie Harwood’s time in Austin was followed by an appointment as Associate Professor of Interior Design at North Texas University from 1981-1982. From 1985-2004 Harwood was a tenured Professor of Interior Design at Virginia Commonwealth University, where she also served as Department Chair in Interior Design from 1997-2004. In 2004 Harwood was awarded Professor Emerita status by Virginia Commonwealth University in recognition of her service as a faculty member and department chair.

Buie Harwood has published a number of journal articles and books, including Architecture and Interior Design: An Integrated History to the Present, Architecture and Interior Design from the 19th Century, Architecture and Interior Design through the 18th Century, and Decorating Texas: Decorative Painting in the Lone Star State from the 1850s to 1950s. Harwood’s research on decorative painting in Texas has fed into multiple professional endeavors. With support from Harwood, a team of researchers deployed by the Texas Historical Commission successfully surveyed and submitted many of the painted churches for historic landmark designation in 1984. Colloquially referred to as the “painted churches,” the landmark showcases a variety of decorative painting techniques, including stenciling, freehand work, graining, and marbling. Built in the mid-to-late 1800’s by European settlers to Texas, the churches are clustered primarily near Schulenburg and Weinberg. Following the success of the historic landmark designation and positive reviews of Decorating Texas, Harwood collaborated with PBS on a documentary entitled “The Painted Churches of Texas, Echoes of the Homeland”, which aired in 2001.

Buie Harwood has won numerous awards during her professional career, including becoming a fellow in the Interior Design Educators Council, the highest honor of recognition, in 1990. In 2003 Harwood became the first recipient of the Educator of Distinction Award from the American Society of Interior Designers, which recognized her contributions to the interior design profession and her work to enhance career path standards affecting the quality and excellence of future designers. Harwood was the second recipient of the prestigious Interior Design Educators Council Arnold Friedmann Educator of Distinction Award in 2012. Harwood's special awards and honors also include, but are not limited to, the Education Foundation Joel Polsky Prize award in 2009 from the American Society of Interior Design, two Interior Design Educators Council service awards in 2008, and induction into the Historic Preservation Honors Society in 2010 . As of 2018, Harwood lives in Richmond, Virginia, and remains active in the interior design community.

For more information about Buie Harwood's education, work experience, academic appointments, awards, and publications please see Harwood's curriculum vitae located in box 01, folder 01 of the Buie Harwood and Anna Brightman Collection.

Anna Brightman was raised in Syracuse, New York where her father was a professor of physics at Syracuse University. She received her BFA and MFA from Syracuse University and her PhD in home economics from Florida State University.

Anna Brightman moved to Austin in 1946 to take a faculty position teaching interior design at The University of Texas at Austin. In addition to her work as a professor, Anna Brightman served as Head the of the Interior Design Division - a division initially founded under the Home Economics Department and now part of the School of Architecture. After Anna Brightman’s retirement in 1981, she was recognized as professor emeritus at The University of Texas at Austin in the Home Economics Department.

Anna Brightman was a major force behind the growth of The University of Texas at Austin’s Interior Design program in its early days. Beginning in 1952, Anna Brightman, along with her colleague Dr. Charles York, spent several decades establishing a strong foundation for the Interior Design Program. Under Anna Brightman's leadership, the interior design program was accredited by the Foundation for Interior Design Education Research (FIDER) in 1973. In 1997, the decision was made by Nancy Kwallek and Dean Lawrence Speck to move the Interior Design program from the College of Natural Sciences, Department of Ecology, to the School of Architecture (where interior design students were already taking many of their classes). This decision resulted in increased selectivity for admissions and increased resources for students, leading to higher rankings among interior design programs.

Brightman taught classes in interior design at The University of Texas at Austin from 1946 until she retired in 1981. Brightman was also a founding member of the Interior Design Educators Council (IDEC) and assisted in the creation of a certificate for the interior design discipline. She went on to serve as president, vice president, and chairman of the board of the Interior Design Educators Council. Brightman taught courses on a variety of topics such as advanced interior design, historic furniture, and the decorative arts, but her primary research focus was historic American furniture.

Her notable projects include the restoration of the House of Seasons, constructed in 1879 in Jefferson, Texas. She served as the acting consultant on the interior restorations of the house in 1976. As acting consultant, Brightman played a major role in the acquisition of period furniture and fine art. Buie Harwood also played a role in the restoration of the House of Seasons by completing a painting reproduction of the historic ceiling wall paper in collaboration with Betty McKee Treanor

Anna Brightman served as a lead consultant for the interior restoration of the Winedale Inn Properties and program coordinator for the summer program, “Winedale Institute in Historic Preservation”. The Winedale Historical Complex was donated to The University of Texas at Austin in 1967 by Ima Hogg, who spearheaded restoration efforts. Situated on 225 acres in Round Top, Texas it includes a variety of 19th century structures such as the Winedale Stagecoach Inn.

Anna Brightman passed away in 1990.