Barney Smith's Toilet Seat Art Museum

This museum showcases the life’ s work of Barney Smith, who created over 1400 art pieces out of toilet seats over the course of many decades.

Barney opened the original museum in 1992 in a large garage in his backyard. As you can see from the visitor logs, press pieces, and travel books in the foyer, his museum was beloved by San Antonio locals and tourists, garnering national and international attention. When we saw Barney’s spectacular collection of eclectic, whimsical and charming art, and heard that Barney was ready to retire, we knew Truck Yard was the museum’s perfect next home.

In may of 2019, just a few days before he turned 98 and a few weeks before opening this museum, Barney said “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.”

Turning forgotten items into art is something we understand here at Truck Yard. We hope to see you in the Museum some time soon.