Exhibition Information page 2
Accessibility
Parking and Directions
Scheduled Public Tours
Exhibition tours: Available during each special exhibition; inquire at the Information Desk for schedule.
Permanent collection tours: Highlights of the permanent collection
Wednesdays, 2 P.M. and Sundays, 3 P.M. (except during periods of reinstallations)
The Buffet at the Kimbell
Relax in the ambience of one of the most beautiful dining areas in the country, and enjoy Shelby Schafer’ famous homemade soups, salads, sandwiches, quiche, and desserts. Friday evenings at the Kimbell feature a light dinner buffet of soups, salads, pasta dishes, and tortes, with a selection of wines and other beverages, accompanied by live music.
About the Museum
The Vision of the Founders
The Kimbell Art Foundation was established in the 1930s by Kay Kimbell – a successful entrepreneur in retailing, real estate, petroleum, and grain – his wife, Velma Fuller Kimbell, and Mrs. Kimbell’s sister and her husband, Dr. and Mrs. Coleman Carter. Mr. and Mrs. Kimbell had just purchased their first paintings. They continued to collect artworks, and when Mr. Kimbell died in 1964 he bequeathed his collection and entire personal fortune to the Foundation to establish and maintain a public art museum “of the first class” in Fort Worth. Shortly thereafter, Mrs. Kimbell contributed her share of their property to facilitate the full implementation of her husband’s wishes.
By 1966, the Kimbell Art Foundation board of trustees had appointed Dr. Richard F. Brown as the Museum’s first director and set the policy of forming “collections of the highest aesthetic quality, derived from any and all periods in man’s history, and in any medium or style.” They envisioned a small assembly of objects that exemplified the highest aspirations of past generations, displayed under natural light in modestly scaled galleries of fine materials that would charm as well as enrich the visitor.
A World-Renowned Building
“An architecture must have the religion of light.
A sense of light as the giver of all presences. Every building, every room must be in natural light because natural light gives the mood of the day.”—Louis I. Kahn, 1973
A Collection of Masterpieces
The Kimbell Art Museum’s small collection of about 350 works is the embodiment of quality and importance at the highest level. The holdings range in period from antiquity to the 20th century, including European masterpieces from Fra Angelico and Caravaggio to Cézanne and Matisse, and important collections of Egyptian, Near Eastern, Greek, and Roman antiquities, as well as Asian, Precolumbian, and African arts. The Kimbell possesses a core of works that not only epitomize their eras and styles, but also touch individual high points of beauty and historical importance that assure them a place among the masterpieces of world art.
Exhibitions
Bonnard-s Worlds
November 5, 2023 – January 28, 2024.
(more information)
Events
*Unless otherwise noted, all images are property of Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas. © 2008 Kimbell Art Museum
