The Wall Street Journal named two Kimbell Art Museum projects in its top ten U.S. art exhibitions of 2019.
Critic Karen Wilkin, in “The Best Art of 2019: Where Knowledge and Beauty Meet,” listed Renoir: The Body, The Senses and Monet: The Late Years as two of the most striking and compelling exhibitions of the year.
Kimbell deputy director George Shackelford organized the Monet exhibition and joined Esther Bell, the Robert and Martha Bermann Lipp Senior Curator at the Clark Art Institute, as co-curator of the centennial celebration of Renoir.
Monet: The Late Years premiered at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco in February, while Renoir: The Body, The Senses was seen at the Clark in Williamstown, Massachusetts, from June through September.
“To have not one but two Kimbell exhibitions chosen in the Wall Street Journal’s top ten is such an honor. We are pleased with the responses we have received to these Impressionist projects – both in the press and from our visitors,” Eric M. Lee, director of the Kimbell Art Museum, said in a news release. “With our partners in San Francisco and Williamstown, we aim to provide the best experiences in art appreciation and are grateful to be recognized for our special exhibitions this year.”
Upon closing, Monet: The Late Years became the highest-attended exhibition at the Kimbell in more than two decades.
Renoir: The Body, The Senses is on view through Jan. 26, 2020, in the Kimbell Art Museum’s Renzo Piano Pavilion.
In Wilkin’s words, the exhibition offers the opportunity to “savor [Renoir’s] varied paint applications, and his marriage of inventive color and mass.” The exhibition was previously described as “a glorious celebration of the nude” by the Wall Street Journal.
Kimbell Art Museum
Hours: Tuesdays through Thursdays and Saturdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Fridays, noon-8 p.m.; Sundays, noon-5 p.m.; closed Mondays. For general information, call 817-332-8451. Website: www.kimbellart.org Admission Always free to view the museum’s permanent collection.
Admission to Renoir: The Body, The Senses
$18 for adults, $16 for seniors and students, $14 for ages 6-11 and free for children under 6. Admission is half-price all day on Tuesdays and after 5 p.m. on Fridays.
– FWBP Staff