Marfa: Art, History and High Desert Landscape

Marfa brings together art and architecture with a vast high desert landscape. In town, traces of artist Donald Judd lead to permanently installed living and working spaces, galleries, and outdoor works. The city also has a layered history, with excursions into the surrounding area. If you’re looking for a vacation rental in Marfa, you might first consider whether you want to focus your stay on the city’s art venues and history, or also include drives and activities beyond town.

Art Venues and Architecture in Marfa

The Judd Foundation gives the public access to Donald Judd’s permanently installed living and working spaces in downtown Marfa. Tours of La Mansana de Chinati, also known as The Block, give visitors access to Judd’s home and studio in Marfa. The site is also associated with some of his first large-scale architecture projects. Tours of The Studios, in turn, take visitors to a selection of Judd’s downtown spaces, including the Architecture Office, Ranch Office, Art Studio, Cobb House, and Whyte Building. Their names and different locations give the study of Judd’s work a tangible architectural dimension.

The Chinati Foundation also presents art in a distinctive spatial context. Its collection is spread across 21 buildings and two sites outside the main location, and includes three site-specific outdoor installations. Donald Judd’s 15 untitled concrete works can be viewed for free along a path during museum opening hours. If you plan to visit these works, check the opening hours before you go.

Ballroom Marfa is an internationally recognized contemporary art museum with no collection of its own, as well as a space for contemporary art and performances. Founded in 2003, it is housed in a 1920s dance hall; admission is free and the venue is open to the public. The Marfa Studio of Arts presents year-round exhibitions in a 1,000-square-foot gallery. Marfa thus offers different ways to experience art side by side: permanently installed works, exhibitions, and performances.

Town History and the High Desert Plateau

From 1909 to 1965, Blackwell School was the city’s only public educational institution for its Mexican and Mexican American children. It is open year-round on Saturdays and Sundays from 12:00 to 16:00 CST; check the details before your visit. The historic district encompasses the city’s historic core and 183 historically significant sites. Its southern section preserves building patterns and construction techniques associated with Mexican settlement in the border region. Numerous examples feature adobe construction, or building with mud bricks.

Marfa lies on the high desert plateau of the Trans-Pecos region; the Marfa Plateau is an extensive upland plain. The city is considered an easy-to-explore-on-foot destination in Texas. When choosing where to stay, you might therefore consider the mix you want: time at Marfa’s art and historic sites, or additional activities in the open landscape. Ebikemarfa offers electric bike rentals and tours in Marfa and the surrounding areas. An overlook nine miles east of Marfa is used to watch the Marfa Lights—an unexplained natural phenomenon involving patterns of light in the sky.

Drives and Discoveries Beyond Town

From Marfa, the River Road leads to Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park. It is considered one of the most scenic roads in Texas. If you want to include a drive on this route in your stay, you can treat it as a separate part of your trip planning rather than spending all your time at Marfa’s art venues. Plan your drive along this route according to your own travel circumstances.

A visit to “the little dairy on the prairie” offers another perspective on the region, giving visitors insight into goat milking and cheese making. Operators Malinda Beeman and Allan McClane brought the business to Marfa in 2006. Art, town history, and experiences like learning about cheese making offer different ways to shape a stay. When choosing a vacation rental in Marfa, you can base your decision on which of these experiences you want to make the focus of your trip.

For the broader travel overview: Presidio County.