Treasures from the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem and early photography from the Bibliothèque nationale de France
Fort Worth, Texas -- The Kimbell Art Museum today announced two special exhibitions for 2026: The Holy Sepulcher: Treasures from the Terra Sancta Museum, Jerusalem in the spring, followed by Photography’s First Century: Masterworks from the Bibliothèque nationale de France opening in the fall. The masterpieces of The Holy Sepulcher have never before traveled to America, while Photography’s First Century will be the Kimbell’s inaugural exhibition celebrating the art of photography.
“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,” said Eric M. Lee, the museum’s director. “The Holy Sepulcher will feature dazzling treasures from of one of the holiest sites in Christendom, while Photography’s First Century will draw from what is arguably the world’s most important collection of photography.”
The Holy Sepulcher: Treasures from the Terra Sancta Museum, Jerusalem
March 15–June 28, 2026
This extraordinary exhibition showcases more than sixty objects in silver, gold, enamel, and precious jewels, given by the Catholic rulers of Europe—the Holy Roman Emperors in Vienna and the monarchs of Portugal, Spain, France, and Naples—to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem.
For nearly two thousand years, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher has been a site of Christian devotion and pilgrimage built on what is traditionally believed to be the site of Jesus of Nazareth’s death, burial, and resurrection, and its treasures have been used in religious ceremonies for centuries. These objects, including spectacular reliquaries, crosses, candlesticks, chalices, and vestments representing the height of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century craftsmanship, have few equivalents anywhere else in the world. Traveling to only two venues in North America—the Frick Collection in New York and the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth—the exhibition represents the first—and possibly only—time these treasures will be seen in the US.
The exhibition is organized by The Frick Collection, in cooperation with the Custodia Terrae Sanctae and Terra Sancta Museum, Jerusalem. Xavier F. Salomon, director of the Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon, and former deputy director of the Frick Collection, was the exhibition’s curator, with Benoit Constensoux and Jacques Charles-Gaffiot. Its presentation at the Kimbell is organized by George Shackelford, Deputy Director.
Photography’s First Century: Masterworks from the Bibliothèque nationale de France
October 4, 2026–January 17, 2027
The Kimbell’s first-ever exhibition celebrating the art of photography will trace the history of the medium’s first century of exploration and discovery, from the rise of the Daguerreotype and the calotype in the 1840s to the age of modernism between the World Wars.
The Bibliothèque nationale de France—the country’s great national library—holds one of the largest and most comprehensive collections of photographs in the world. Drawn from these rich holdings, this survey of more than 150 images includes work by Henri Le Secq, Gustave le Gray, Félix Tournachon (Nadar), Édouard Baldus, Louis-Émile Durandelle, Eugène Atget, Sonia Delaunay, André Kertesz, Rogi André, Man Ray, and Brassaï.
Photography’s First Century is organized by the Bibliothèque nationale de France and the Kimbell Art Museum in collaboration with Manifesto Expo and in conjunction with France’s celebration of the bicentennial of the invention of photography. The exhibition’s curators are Madame Sylvie Aubenas, Director of the Department of Prints and Photography and Madame Flora Triebel, curator of the 19th-century photography collection at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris. Its presentation at the Kimbell is organized by George Shackelford, Deputy Director.
Support
Promotional support for the Kimbell Art Museum and its exhibitions is provided by American Airlines, NBC 5, and Fort Worth Report. Additional support is provided by Arts Fort Worth and the Texas Commission on the Arts.
Visitor information
Admission to the museum’s permanent collection is always free. Admission to special exhibitions is half-price all day on Tuesdays and after 5 p.m. on Fridays.
The Kimbell Art Museum is open Tuesdays through Thursdays and Saturdays, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; Fridays, noon–8 p.m.; Sundays, noon–5 p.m.; closed Mondays, New Year’s Day, Juneteenth, July 4, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. For general information, call 817-332-8451.
About the Kimbell Art Museum
The Kimbell Art Museum, owned and operated by the Kimbell Art Foundation, is internationally renowned for both its collections and its architecture. The Kimbell’s collections range in period from antiquity to the twentieth century and include European paintings and sculptures by artists such as Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Artemisia Gentileschi, Bernini, Velázquez, Gainsborough, Monet, Cézanne, Picasso, and Matisse, as well as important examples of Egyptian and classical antiquities. Also included are significant works of Asian art from China, Japan, the Himalayas, and South and Southeast Asia; notable African sculptures primarily from West and Central Africa; and a wide range of ancient American art representing cultures across Mexico and Central and South America.
The museum’s 1972 building, designed by the American architect Louis I. Kahn, is widely regarded as one of the outstanding architectural achievements of the modern era. A second building, designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, opened in 2013 and now provides space for special exhibitions, dedicated classrooms, and a 289-seat auditorium with excellent acoustics for music. For more information, visit kimbellart.org.
