The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, announced last week the gift of a masterpiece of modern sculpture, a carved limestone Head (c. 1913), by the Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani (1884–1920). This important work was given in honor of Ted and Lucile Weiner by their daughter Gwendolyn Weiner. It is one of about 27 surviving sculptures by the artist, and among his finest. Head is on view in the Kimbell’s permanent collection galleries. Amedeo Modigliani, Italian (1884–1920) Head, c. 1913. Limestone, 20 5/8 x 9 3/4 x 14 3/4 in. Collection of Kimbell Art Museum Given in honor of Ted and Lucile Weiner by their daughter Gwendolyn, 2017 “This is one of the most significant gifts the Kimbell has ever received,” said Eric M. Lee, director of the Kimbell Art Museum. “I will be forever grateful to Gwen Weiner for her extraordinary generosity, which will enrich the visitor experience at the Kimbell Art Museum for generations to come.” The Kimbell has great works of modern painting in its collection by artists such as Picasso, Matisse and Mondrian, but until now it has had no work in any medium by Modigliani. Remarkably, Head is the first work of modern sculpture to take its place within the galleries designed by Louis I. Kahn for the Kimbell Art Museum. Although renowned today for his more numerous paintings, Modigliani considered himself foremost a sculptor. Having left his hometown of Livorno in 1906 to join the Parisian avant-garde and stimulated by the example of Constantin Brancusi, who became his neighbor when he moved to a studio in the community of Montparnasse in 1909, Modigliani championed direct carving in stone, seeking to revitalize sculpture by returning to its ancient methods. Scavenging limestone from construction sites including the Paris subway, he created a series of elegantly stylized, mostly elongated heads, with slender necks and geometric features such as almond-shaped eyes and small round or smiling mouths. Modigliani’s distinctive aesthetic—born from the tension between figuration and abstraction—was inspired by a range of works that he admired in Paris, including African, Egyptian, ancient Greek and Cambodian statuary. Modigliani’s powerful—even mystical—sculptures invoke deities or timeless beings. Seven…
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