Aliyah Rose’s Auntie Carol, a seriously talented artist, told us that we simply must visit the Kimbell Museum when we were next in the Fort Worth area. So we did!
The Kimbell has been around since 1972, but the original founders started building the art collection back in 1932, and it is truly impressive. Apparently Fort Worth has a reputation as a center for the fine arts, and Alliyah set out to see if it was well deserved. (Spoiler, it is!) Their focus is to acquire and present outstanding examples of a wide variety of art forms from all over the world, rather than showcasing large collections of similar works. That was great with us, since we got to see all sorts of incredible art and weren’t bored for a minute!
One of our first art encounters at the Kimbell was this colorful piece,
Walking Flower by Fernand Léger. The grownups weren’t quite sure what to make of it, but Aliyah assured us that it was quite striking, and she wanted to climb it to test its tensile strength. Sadly, the climbing was firmly ruled out. So were swinging and sliding. Are we mean or what???!
Once inside the museum, we arrived at a large selection of gorgeous paintings. Aliyah has gotten into the habit of pointing at the artwork she likes best, and absolutely insists that we take pictures of each one, sometimes several times. (She also does this with toys, food, and bits of flotsam she finds on the ground, but I digress.)
Museums are even more rewarding when you have a fellow aficionado to compare notes with. Aliyah and her Aunt Diana had a lot to talk about, as they analyzed some of the important period pieces like this one. It’s the head of a Roman statue, presumably a priestess. Maybe they are speculating about the fate of the rest of this statue? Enquiring children want to know!
Remember, when you’re spending several hours at a fine museum like the Kimbell, you will need to occasionally stretch out those muscles to stay limber. Also, the ceiling is very interesting and deserves careful examination, as Aliyah is pleased to demonstrate:
Aliyah on how to view ceiling architecture using commonly available furniture
And no, I don’t know what’s in her socks. Stop asking.
We also came across this intriguing piece while perusing the paintings. It practically invites you to touch it because of all the textured surfaces and interesting loops, but we all refrained ourselves. It’s supposed to evoke the waters off the coast of England, and we could definitely see that in it’s rolls and splashiness. It also looked sort of like a a really cool alien space ship.
It should be noted that the docents like visitors to stand a respectful distance from the paintings so we don’t accidentally touch them. Aliyah thoughtfully shows us where we should stand, as opposed to where she would *like* to be when no one is watching…
Aliyah shows us how far to stand from the painting 
… and how to creep up on said painting… 
… when nobody’s watching… 
… and how to check for possible POS* interference (*Parents Over Shoulder)
She really, really wanted to sit directly under all the paintings, because she wasn’t actually going to touch them from the floor (as she tried to explain), and she soooo wanted to be close to them. Let’s see where that got her:
Docents and cousins will BOTH usher you away from the objects of your desire… 
…and give you remedial training in ‘safe space’ for paintings
While perusing the paintings we had the great good luck to meet a budding young artist making sketches based on one of the paintings. Aliyah was mesmerized by the idea that a person could just plop right down and draw art right there in the middle of the museum. I think it made her miss her crayons. This young lady graciously allowed us to take her pic for the blog, but I forgot to ask her name! Thank you, mystery artist, for setting a great example on how to use museum resources to expand your own horizons, and for sparking Aliyah’s interest and imagination!
Aliyah was particularly, er, moved by the sculptures, such as the lovely L’Air by Aristide Maillol. She even took it on herself to show us how to interpret the feeling and grace of this piece.
Practical Exercise in “Life Imitates Art 101” with A. Rose. 
“Child In Repose,” a Modern Interpretation by Performance Artist A. Rose
Walking between the buildings gave us all a nice break in the warm sunshine, and Aliyah was able to run off a little energy. Plus, there were pretty trees and sculptures in the garden area, and a soothing water feature that we did NOT let Aliyah play in.
Aliyah was happy to present for our viewing pleasure a pair of ancient Native American Pendants. Girls just gotta have some solid gold bling. We saw a few other wearable art items like a royal belt ornament, but Aliyah decided that these were the prettiest.
Aliyah quite liked the many carvings and sculptures we found on display, spanning different world regions and eras. Here are a few of her favs:
Figurines from the Olmec culture, Mexico circa 900-400 BC 
Bodhisattva Torso, China Tang dynasty 
Ancient American Censer Stands 
Ancient American Urn in the Form of Cociyo, God of Lightning, Rain, and Slumber 
Intricate sculpture of a high status African Woman and her baby 
Look how snuggled up the baby is. So sweet.
As we wondered around the museum, we stumbled across this marvelous play area for the little ones. Of course we all had to try out the comfy couches while Aliyah patiently tested all the toys! Aliyah was diligent about testing a statistically significant number of toys, and assured us that the mean happiness level was between 92-98% with a margin of error at .05. Well done!
Do all these toys provide quality imaginative play? Why, yes they do. 
Aliyah quality checks felt art pieces for adherence and colorfulness
At the end of the tour, Aliyah inspected several models of the Kimbell Museum as it grew over the years. She would have opted for a hands-on inspection, but that just wasn’t in the cards this time.
All in all, Aliyah approved of the Kimbell as a place where she could expand her artistic horizons, get in some quality playtime and even rest when her little feet got tired. Two little thumbs up!
About the Kimbell Museum
Website: kimbellart.org
Address:
3333 Camp Bowie Bouldevard
Fort Worth, Texas 76107
Phone: (817) 332-8451