Kimbell Art Museum tapped art historian Emerson Bowyer to serve as its chief curator, the Fort Worth art institution announced March 5.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bowyer joins the museum from the Art Institute of Chicago where he served as its curator of painting and sculpture of Europe. His first day at the Kimbell was Thursday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve long admired (the Kimbell\u2019s) unique and renowned collection of masterpieces, as well as its commitment to excellence in research, exhibitions, and conservation,\u201d Bowyer said in a statement. \u201cI\u2019m excited to play a role in continuing that venerable tradition and to join the vibrant arts community in North Texas.\u201d<\/p>\n
Born and raised in Australia, he studied law at the University of Sydney and art history at Columbia. He specializes in 18th- and 19th-century French and British art.\u00a0<\/p>\n
During his time at the Art Institute of Chicago, he organized an exhibition that spotlighted more than 60 sculptures<\/a> from renowned French artist Camille Claudel. She was celebrated as one of few female sculptors in the 19th century.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bowyer helped bring the Horvitz Collection, one of the most comprehensive displays of 19th-century French art worldwide<\/a>, to Chicago last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n He previously worked at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco and the Frick Collection in New York.\u00a0<\/p>\n The new curator said he is \u201cdeeply honored\u201d to relocate to Fort Worth and join the Kimbell\u2019s curatorial team made up of deputy director George Shackelford, curator of European art Nancy Edwards, curatorial assistant Rebeca Goss and Jennifer Casler Price, curator of Asian, African and Ancient American Art.\u00a0<\/p>\n Kimbell director Eric Lee said Bowyer brings a strong history of organizing exhibitions based on \u201crigorous scholarship\u201d and a reputation as an engaging and thoughtful leader.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI am confident that he will contribute meaningfully to the Kimbell\u2019s collection, programming and professional staff,\u201d Lee said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bowyer\u2019s tenure begins as the Fort Worth museum prepares to welcome \u201cThe Holy Sepulcher: Treasures from the Terra Sancta Museum, Jerusalem<\/a>\u201d exhibition later this month.\u00a0<\/p>\n Disclosure: Kimbell Art Museum has been a financial supporter<\/a> of the Fort Worth Report.\u00a0<\/p>\n David Moreno is the arts and culture reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at david.moreno@fortworthreport.org or @davidmreports<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Fort Worth Report\u2019s arts and culture coverage is supported in part by the Meta Alice Keith Bratten Foundation and the Virginia Hobbs Charitable Trust. At the Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here<\/a>.<\/p>\n This <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2026\/03\/05\/australian-art-historian-tapped-for-chief-curator-at-kimbell-art-museum\/”>article<\/a> first appeared on <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/fortworthreport.org”>Fort Worth Report<\/a> and is republished here under a <a target=”_blank” href=”https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nd\/4.0\/”>Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License<\/a>.<img src=”https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/fortworthreport.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/cropped-favicon.png?resize=150%2C150&quality=80&ssl=1″ style=”width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;”><\/p>\n <img id=”republication-tracker-tool-source” src=”https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/?republication-pixel=true&post=435633&ga4=2820184429″ style=”width:1px;height:1px;”><script> PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: “https:\/\/fortworthreport.org\/2026\/03\/05\/australian-art-historian-tapped-for-chief-curator-at-kimbell-art-museum\/”, urlref: window.location.href }); } } <\/script> <script id=”parsely-cfg” src=”\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/fortworthreport.org\/p.js”><\/script>