The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth & The Kimbell Art Museum

FORT WORTH

Occasionally, I get out of town and visit people. I have some in-law type relatives that live in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area, so we venture down there from time to time. I usually find an excuse to break away and I go visit a museum or two. Luckily, the Kimbell Art Museum and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth are practically across the street from each other. I can park in one parking lot and walk a little bit to each of them and take in twice the art.

The first set of photos comes from "The Modern" as it's been cleverly shortened to in write ups and maps. When I say The Modern, I try not to say it in a snooty accent, Thuh Maahhdern, Dahhhling. HA! I'm always amazed when I go, because some of the pieces here I've seen in some of the art textbooks I had in college. It's strange because some of the books skew the perspective and I think a work is huge when in fact it's about a 10X16" canvas. IT'S THAT SMALL?! Seeing some of these truly wonderful works of art up close gives you a sense of motion that the artists went through to make it. Seeing it in a book or, like here, on the internet, is cool, but being a foot or two away from it really brings it to life.

So, I visit one museum, doesn't matter which one I start with, then go to the other one when I've soaked in all the calm that museums give me. Here's a few pics from The Modern.

In this case, I go from the nice cool halls of The Modern, into the soul crushing heat of DFW, and back into the chilled air in the Kimbell Art Museum.

The Kimbell is more of a diverse museum than The Modern. Not better or worse, just different. Where The Modern hosts classic modern art and new artists on the rise, The Kimbell's collection spans centuries of art. Yes, there are modernish works by the likes of Gauguin and Mondrian, but there are also anciet Turkish mosaics and statues from excavated temples. It's one of those things, if you only had time to visit one, you would get a broader example of art at the Kimbell. You'd regret not going to The Modern, but choosing The Kimbell would feel like you saw more art somehow.

One year I went to The Kimbell specifically to see a show they curated that showed the gentlemen's rivalry between Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. I got a poster that's shown below. The story is, those to men used to copy each other's work to see who could paint that scene better. Pablo would visit Henri, look at his work, then go home and recreate that painting. And Henri did the same. Sometimes I laugh about how much stunning work came out of two guys trying to one up each other. And, thanks to The Kimbell, I was able to experience that Gentle Rivalry in person.

So if you're in the DFW area and you're trying to escape from family for a couple of hours, you can't do better than The Modern and The Kimbell. Cool air, great art, quiet serenity, and coffee in the cafe. Perfect.

Jonathan Elmore ©2025