Collectors' Gallery: The Lusher Collection

Private collectors are integral to the preservation of history. Their dedication to collecting historical maps, documents, artifacts, and works of art ensures that the material evidence of the past is safeguarded for future generations. The Collectors' Gallery showcases the passion behind privately owned collections in Texas, featuring some of the finest treasures in the state. 

The Lusher Collection

Ted and Sharon Lusher, of Austin, Texas, are the collecting partnership behind The Lusher Collection, an archive for objects associated with the Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico, also known as the Borderlands. Their collection contains American Indian, Spanish, and Anglo works in a variety of media that reflect the culture of the peoples of the U.S. and Mexico border region.

Ted Lusher is the former CEO of Sell-Thru Services Inc., which was established in 1987. He describes his collecting philosophy through the words of Hunter S. Thompson, an American journalist and novelist, who once said, “What is truth to one may be disaster to another. I do not see life through your eyes, nor you through mine.” Ted collects according to his own interests, seeking out objects that are meaningful to him. Sharon also collects according to her own philosophy and is responsible for their stunning art collection. As a pair, they have built an impressive, thoughtful collection that they display in their Austin home and make available to researchers and museums alike to share with the larger public.

This selection of 27 artifacts reflects the confluence of Spanish, American Indian, Mexican, and Anglo cultures that have inhabited the border region in the last 400 years.

Select Artifacts On View in the Exhibition

• Vargueño drop-front writing desk from Colonial New Spain
• Hopi bowl attributed to the potter Nampeyo
• Mexican parade saddle embroidered with red roses
• The Texas Stock Directory or Book of Marks and Brands

Support for the Bullock Museum's exhibitions and education programs is provided by the Texas State History Museum Foundation.