Museum of Fine Arts, Houston adds Joshua Johnson portrait and 400-year-old Medici-Farnese table to 2026 acquisitions

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston announced new acquisitions for 2026, including Joshua Johnson's "Lady on a Red Sofa," a rare unfinished portrait by Joshua Reynolds, and a 400-year-old marble Medici-Farnese table. Johnson's painting is on view in the museum's American art galleries, while the Reynolds portrait is displayed at Rienzi. The Renaissance table will go on view this fall, alongside other recent additions such as a 17th-century French tapestry and drawings by Théodore Géricault.

Joshua Johnson, recognized as one of America's first established Black painters, completed "Lady on a Red Sofa" around 1820. The painting is one of his last known portraits. The museum said acquiring a work by Johnson had been a longtime priority. "Lady on a Red Sofa" is in the American art galleries.

The unfinished "Portrait of a Woman" by British painter Joshua Reynolds is also part of the acquisitions. The painting is displayed at Rienzi, the museum's European art house and former home of Carroll Sterling Masterson and Harris Masterson III. The unfinished state shows Reynolds' process.

The museum acquired a 400-year-old marble Medici-Farnese table inlaid with stones. The museum called the table an important rediscovery from the Grand Ducal workshops in Renaissance Florence. The table will go on view this fall.

Other acquisitions include a 17th-century French tapestry and two drawings by 19th-century French artist Théodore Géricault.

"Each of these acquisitions is extraordinary in its own right, but together they expand the stories that we can tell and deepen the connections that our visitors can make with the art in our galleries," Museum of Fine Arts, Houston director Gary Tinterow said in a statement.

The new works will be integrated into existing galleries as they go on display. The Medici-Farnese table, scheduled for display this fall, joins other Renaissance-era pieces in the collection. The Johnson painting is in the American art galleries. The Reynolds portrait is at Rienzi.

The acquisitions include works from different periods and regions. The Johnson painting adds a work by one of America's first established Black painters to the museum's collection of early American art.

Visitors can see the Johnson painting at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston and the Reynolds portrait at Rienzi. The Medici-Farnese table will go on view later this fall.