Weird Museums: Barney Smith’s Toilet Seat Art Museum

There’s a quote attributed to Mark Twain that says “Write what you know.” In our field trips so far, I’d argue that the museum founder’s mantra is similar: “Collect and display what you know.” For Barney Smith, a career master plumber, what he knew was toilet seats.

Growing up, Barney was seemingly surrounded by two main things: trophies/plaques and plumbing equipment. His father, also a master plumber, apparently filled their home with a number of commemorative placards (though I’m not sure what, exactly, these commemorated). One day, Barney noticed something that would change the course of his life forever: the humble toilet seat was strangely similar to the mounting boards on the walls of his childhood home.

In that moment, a new art form was born. Barney got to work transforming plain (presumably unused) toilet seats into mixed media works of art. The seats served as canvases for embellishments with paint and found objects in a unique collage style. Soon, Barney could be found in his garage-turned-museum, guiding visitors through hundreds of toilet seats on display. At one point, the master plumber himself started running out of toilet seat covers and guests were encouraged to bring their own as donations to the museum (don’t worry, Barney always credited his donors).

Barney Smith in front of his museum [Image from travelandleisure.com]

Over the span of 50 years, Barney had created more than 1,400 pieces of toilet seat art. To put this in perspective, Van Gogh is believed to have only produced about 2,000 total works; I like to think Barney is one of the greats. What I love most about Barney and his art is his diverse creativity; he seems to view each toilet seat as a form of tribute and takes his inspiration from anywhere and everywhere. In all seriousness this is my favorite thing about art and art history - people using it as a means of celebrating the mundane, the things that make up their lives. This line in an article from roadsideamerica.com sums it up well:

“If you spend an hour looking at Barney’s toilet seats, you’ll know almost everything about Barney. He didn’t get to 1,400 seats by being narrow-minded.”

There are toilet seats dedicated to a wide array of topics. Barney memorializes historic events and people - either famous or from his own life - in tribute seats to the likes of Barbie and Ken, Vietnam Vets, OJ Simpson, the 1990 Miss America Pageant, and his 60th wedding anniversary trip to Branson. Other historical toilet seats contain a piece of the space shuttle Challenger, ash from Mount St. Helens, and a piece of Saddam Hussein’s toilet. Some have important messages on them: “Carbon Monoxide is deadly,” and “Crime Does not Pay.” But my favorite category is, as per usual, the tributes to the mundane. These include (but are by no means limited to) seats about cosmetic dentistry, faucet handles, CB radio, hobo code signs, Pennsylvania Dutch hex symbols, and bingo. In a sentence I never thought I’d type, there really is a toilet seat for everything.

By 2019 Barney was approaching 98 years old and was starting to worry about the fate of his museum. The toilet seats were his life’s work, and he couldn’t bare the thought of his beloved little museum being uncared for. As he set out to get his affairs in order, he had a few offers from family and plumbing companies alike who were more than happy to keep the museum up and running. But in the end, Barney’s museum found its forever home in a place called The Colony, a city about 20 miles north of Dallas. The museum has its own building in the Truck Yard, a beer garden/”adult playground.” Barney’s art is displayed in a beautiful new building that houses the venue’s bathrooms as well as the art collection, so it gets plenty of visibility and love from guests. You can even rent it out for your next party or event!

Barney Smith, surrounded by adoring friends and family at the new location for his museum in The Colony, Texas [Image from dallasobserver.com]

When the acquisition was announced, Barney had the following to say:

“I appreciate them wanting...to put my work on display, and to show the world what I did for 97 years of my life. I’d like to be remembered for how a person could save a lot of stuff that is being destroyed [and] for showing them it needs to be saved - maybe not on a toilet seat, but they can save what has come their way instead of destroying it. Showing that it’s worth something.”

My heart will never recover from this image of Barney seeing his art displayed in its new home [Image from truckyardthecolony.com]

The new location for his museum opened in May of 2019 and Barney was the exuberant guest of honor. He passed away less than two months later, but his legacy lives on.

Sources and Further Reading

Official Facebook Page - Barney Smith’s Toilet Seat Art Museum

Truck Yard, The Colony - Official Website

Barney Smith’s Toilet Seat Art Museum - Article from Roadside America

Toilet Seat Museum - Tripadvisor

Article: Barney Smith’s Toilet Seat Art Museum is moving to North Texas | mysanantonio.com

Article: San Antonio’s Toilet Seat Art Museum owner Barney Smith dead at 98 | mysanantonio.com

The Museum of Over 1,400 Decorated Toilet Seats - ripleys.com

Barney Smith’s Toilet Seat Art Museum - Atlas Obscura

[Image on right from truckyardthecolony.com]