Selections from the Permanent Collection
Ongoing
Kimbell Art Museum
Fort Worth, Texas
Kimbellart.org
The Kimbell’s permanent collection is small in size, comprising fewer than 350 works of art, and is distinguished by an extraordinary level of artistic quality and importance. The idea of building a choice collection of representative masterpieces was established by the Board of Directors of the Kimbell Art Foundation in consultation with Museum’s first director, Richard F. (Ric) Brown, in a Policy Statement of June 1, 1966:
The dominating principle involved in the acquisition process is that the stature of the Museum depends more upon the quality of the definitive objects that it contains than on the historical completeness of its collections. A prospective addition to the collections, therefore, is to be judged from the standpoint of aesthetic quality and typicality, and whether it defines a master, period, school, style, or area. The goal shall be definitive excellence, not size of collection.
Leaving to older and larger institutions the role of collecting broadly and in depth, the Kimbell has continued to pursue quality over quantity. Its holdings range from the third millennium B.C. to the mid-20th century and include major works by Duccio, Fra Angelico, Caravaggio, Poussin, Velázquez, Bernini, Rembrandt, Goya, Monet, Cézanne, Picasso, Mondrian, and Matisse.
Pair of Winged Deities, Assyria (Iraq), Reign of Ashurnasirpal II (883–859 B.C.) c. 874-860 B.C. Gypsum a: 36 1/4 x 27 9/16 in. (92 x 70 cm) b: 35 11/16 x 28 15/16 in. (90.7 x 73.5 cm) AP 1981.04 a,b
