From the Private Collections of Texas: European Art, Ancient to Modern

This book is the catalogue for an exhibition organized by the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth in early 2010 and is centered on the holdings of Texan museums and Texan private collections of European art of all periods up to the modern era (From Egyptian and Greek antiquities to Magritte and Arp...). The illustrations are wonderful, especially the photographs of the works in situ when they belong to a private collection. I find it always fascinating to get a glimpse inside the homes of private collectors and to see how the works are hung, and the book enables the reader to do just that. Also, in most cases, the provenance of the works is very well documented and the works themselves thoroughly explained.The book also gives a good idea of the history of taste and collecting in Texas and explains how major museums in Dallas, Houston and Fort Worth were created.True, there are very few masterpieces in this selection, the exceptions being: a Dutch still life by Claesz. Heda from the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, a small Paul Bril landscape from a private collection in Dallas, a wonderful Guido Reni, also from Houston, a Voltaire bust by Houdon in a private collection in Houston, a couple of marvelous portraits by Gainsborough, major paintings by Caillebotte and Van Gogh and the famous "Place de la Concorde" by Mondrian in the Dallas Museum of Art. Apart from these few examples, most of the works are good but not great examples of major artists (Monet, Manet, Georges de la Tour, Clouet...), yet it is always interesting to discover many little-known works, which is another asset of this book.On the whole, a high-quality publication which gives a good idea of the quality of art-collecting in Texas.

The common thread of this Kimble Art Museum catalogue is that all the exhibits initially originated from private collections in Texas. The first section consists of an interesting and informative essay by Richard Brettell about art collecting in Texas. This is followed by color illustrations and annotations of the 111 exhibits. This starts with an Egyptian goddess (circa 500BC) and concludes with a Max Beckman portrait (1947). The disparate assortment of art works mainly consists of paintings but there are a few sculptures and Grecian vases.The earlier works are Italian, Flemish, Dutch, French and British paintings. Numbers 47-111 were created after 1800. While there are few famous paintings on view, the general standard of the exhibits is very high. Some that deserve mention are a superb Rembrandt "Elderly Woman in a White Cap", two magnificant van Gogh landscapes, a number of exceptional Cezannes and 6 early and later Mondrians. Very few of the works were previously familiar to me and a number are published for the first time. There are additionally illustrations of associated art works and House and Garden type photographs of some of the paintings displayed in private homes.This weighty tome is excellently printed (in China)with high quality color reproductions. I enjoyed this reasonably priced book very much, particularly for the opportunity to see high quality art works that I had not previously encountered. Highly recommended.