Kimbell Art Museum is giving Fort Worth art lovers exclusive opportunities to view rare holy jewels and historic photographs during two exhibitions next year.
The Fort Worth museum is one of two North American venues shining light on more than 60 silver, gold and bejeweled objects gifted by the Holy Roman Emperors in Vienna and the monarchs of Portugal, Spain, France and Naples to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.
The Church of the Holy Sepulcher — built on what is believed to be the site of Jesus of Nazareth’s death, burial and resurrection — has been a site of Christian devotion for nearly two thousand years. The church’s treasures have been used in religious ceremonies for centuries, according to the Kimbell.
“The Holy Sepulcher: Treasures from the Terra Sancta Museum, Jerusalem” exhibition features 17th- and 18th-century crosses, candlesticks, chalices, reliquaries and vestments.
The exhibition opens in Fort Worth on March 15 and runs through June 28. The show’s other stop in North America is ongoing at the Frick Collection in New York and concludes in January.
“Cope of the Red Pontifical Set of Vestments of Genoa” from 1686-1697 is featured in “The Holy Sepulcher: Treasures from the Terra Sancta Museum, Jerusalem” exhibition. The piece consists of satin ground, silk thread, and painting on silk. (Courtesy photo | Joseph Coscia Jr.)
This antependium from 1731 consists of three parts: A central piece recreates the moment when the Holy Spirit appeared to the Virgin Mary and the apostles after the resurrection of Christ; adjacent niches contain figures of St. Bonaventure, left, and St. Louis of Anjou, right. (Courtesy photo | Joseph Coscia Jr.)
The Kimbell then will celebrate the art of photography within its walls for the first time in the fall with “Photography’s First Century: Masterworks from the Bibliothèque nationale de France.”
The exhibition will spotlight some of the earliest preserved photographs ranging from the daguerreotype — a photographic image on a silver-coated copper plate introduced in the 1840s — to the age of modernism between the World Wars.
The Bibliothèque nationale de France serves as the country’s national library and holds one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of photographs in the world, according to the Kimbell.
The Fort Worth exhibition will feature more than 150 images from early photographers, including French artists Henri Le Secq, Gustave Le Gray and Félix Tournachon. The show will be on view Oct. 4, 2026, through Jan. 17, 2027.
In 1851, brothers Louis-Cyrus Macaire and Hippolyte Macaire developed a daguerreotype of a ship leaving the port of Le Havre in France. The image was acquired by the French national library in 1960 upon the death of the collector Albert Gilles. (Courtesy image | Bibliothèque nationale de France)
Museum director Eric Lee expressed gratitude for the opportunity to share these works with the American public.
“The Kimbell’s 2026 exhibitions continue the museum’s tradition of giving its visitors once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to experience great works of art from around the globe,” he said in a statement.
Earlier this year, the Fort Worth museum highlighted the development of German modern art before and after Nazi rule in its exhibition “Modern Art and Politics in Germany 1910-1945.” Many of the featured artworks were from German artists who worked either in secret within their homeland or in exile during periods of political repression.
The Kimbell is currently displaying nearly 60 works from the largest private collection of ancient Roman sculptures during the artifacts’ first tour outside of Europe. The exhibition runs through Jan. 25.
David Moreno is the arts and culture reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or @davidmreports.
Disclosure: Kimbell Art Museum has been a financial supporter of the Fort Worth Report. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
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