By MIKE NORMAN
mnorman@star-telegram.com
There are 112 works of what for most folks might as well be priceless art — stunning paintings, sculptures and an ancient vase or two — in the Kimbell Art Museum’s exhibit that opened last weekend.
That would be the same museum that a few weeks ago unveiled its prized new Michelangelo painting, the first known painting by the great genius of the 15th- and 16th-century Italian Renaissance.
The latest exhibit has a story behind it that I find fascinating. Each of its treasures comes from the collection of a Texan. Some have since been sold or bequeathed to museums, but more than half normally hang in people’s homes.
Hence the name of the huge exhibit, "From the Private Collections of Texas: European Art, Ancient to Modern." It is scheduled to run through March 21, but don’t waste time getting there. It’s well worth the effort.
For these private collectors, it must be far more than nice to sit on a couch or a favorite easy chair, look above the fireplace and see a breathtaking painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir or Vincent van Gogh or Claude Monet.
Never mind how much that must impress your friends — just sit there and stare at it by yourself.
There are quite a few people in Texas, many here in Fort Worth and Tarrant County, who can do just that.
But to me, that’s still not the most interesting thing about this exhibit, which has paintings by those artists and many others equally well-known and talented, assembled by Kimbell associate curator C.D. Dickerson and UT-Dallas professor Richard R. Brettell. I picked up my favorite factoid during lectures that the two gave on Saturday to introduce the exhibit.
Brettell mentioned — not by name, but mentioned — one man who had declined to loan a painting that he and Dickerson sought for the exhibit.
I called later with a question: Did he mean that, out of 112 precious works of art, so many of which are prized personal possessions of people who can afford to have them, only one person declined to loan a requested piece to the Kimbell?
"Yes, absolutely," Brettell told me. "Everybody but that one person agreed."
I was shocked. That’s some very generous people.
"That," Brettell said, "is one of the great parts of the Texas story."
One couple from Southlake purchased a painting just weeks ago and loaned it to the Kimbell for this exhibit.
There are some very wealthy investors in the world who buy art treasures and put them in vaults. They expect to make a lot of money one day when they sell, but until then the art stays stored and nobody sees it.
That’s tragic.
Fortunately for us, plenty of Texans have been wealthy enough to buy extraordinary pieces of art and generous enough to share them.
Brettell says there is much more museum-quality art in private Texas collections, easily enough to make up another exhibit.
I get the feeling that he and the Kimbell might have exactly that sequel in mind a few years down the road.
Information displayed with the art in the current exhibit sometimes gives the name of the collector. Some famous names are among them, and some relative newcomers who likely are not well-known yet, even in art circles. There also are those who prefer not to be named.
They all deserve gratitude. Thank you to those who have loaned their art for the rest of us to see, including "a Fort Worth lady" and "a Dallas collector" and "from a private collection, Houston."
Mike Norman is editorial director of the Star-Telegram/ Arlington and Northeast Tarrant County. 817-390-7830
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