Masterpieces fit for Louis I. Kahn’s architecture
The Kimbell Art Museum opened in 1972 in Louis I. Kahn’s mecca of modern architecture in Fort Worth, Texas. Inspired by the classical grandeur of Roman architecture, Kahn’s building takes light as its theme, defined by its skylit vaulted spaces in silvery concrete punctuated by three courtyards. The collection is small but superb, comprising around 350 works of art distinguished by their extraordinary artistic quality and importance. The museum’s collecting policy of “definitive excellence,” regardless of medium, period or school of origin, was adopted in 1966 by the Kimbell Art Foundation, established 30 years earlier by Kay and Velma Kimbell together with Kay’s sister and her husband, Dr and Mrs Coleman Carter. Building upon initial holdings of British and French 18th- and 19th-century portraiture, the museum has acquired major works by Duccio, Fra Angelico, Caravaggio, Poussin, Velázquez, Bernini, Rembrandt, Goya, Monet, Cézanne, Picasso, Mondrian and Matisse.
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