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Studio Confidential paired with a signature talisman. If her name is familiar, yes, her political-dynasty family is that Hofheinz: Her husband, former Mayor Fred Hofheinz, advised Dominique de Menil on her new museum, and Linda and Fred were often guests at Mrs. de Menil's intimate Sunday salon suppers; her late father-in-law, Judge, then Mayor Roy Hofheinz built the Astrodome and brought baseball to Houston. Despite her husband's family fame, the very private Linda retains an understated demeanor as mysterious as her artworks. She grew up in Baytown, the daughter of a Humble Oil scientist dad and a mom who did accounting for a doctor's office. Linda was influenced by her father, whose passion for astronomy, mythology, history, and books remains with her today. She entered the art world after studying science at the University of Houston to become a medical illustrator, and her meticulous form of magical realism is undoubtedly shaped by that training. After teaching high school art for 15 years, she became a stylist for photographer Ron Scott — a fertile and imaginative period, art-directing shoots ranging from drill bits to furs and jewels, as well as iconic Texas Monthly covers. Today, her multi-layered art practice incorporates assemblage, collage, painting, sculpture, and jewelry. The latter entered the artist's toolbox after she was incapacitated in 2008 File this profile under Peacock and Friends. A d a z z l i n g synthesis of decorative art, painting, and interior design from a century and half ago serves as one of the departure points for a Houston artist's fantastical menagerie on view this month along Colquitt's Gallery Row. Signal Linda Hofheinz's idyllic ode to James McNeill Whistler's Peacock Room (1876-1877). The original was translocated to the permanent collection of the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Whistler's masterpiece is among the sources for Hofheinz's inspired romp through design, history, and an anthropomorphized animal kingdom in "Call of the Wild," opening Saturday, September 7, 5 to 8 pm, at Heidi Vaughan Fine Art. Hofheinz says of one of the exhibition's touchstones: "I read the tale about Whistler's Peacock Room in a book as a young girl. The story fascinated me then and it still does today. It involves beautiful things and an artistic act of passion." Hofheinz has been a subtle yet important part of the Houston scene for decades — an elegant, patrician presence for whom the word multi-hyphenate might be applied. We, however, prefer the term Renaissance woman. Her Jungian portraits of art-world figures are greatly prized, from Orange Show founder Marilyn Oshman to artist/ gallerist Wayne Gilbert, each personage Meet the Enchanting Menagerie of Artist Linda Hofheinz By Catherine D. Anspon. Photography William Issac. Artist Linda Hofheinz 84