The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth director Marla Price is retiring after 30 years at the museum.
The former associate curator of 20th century art at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and well-known scholar of contemporary art came to Texas in 1986 to serve as the museum’s chief curator, presenting shows like 1989’s renowned touring show “10 + 10: Contemporary Soviet and American Painters.”
Price became acting director after E.A. Carmean left for the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art in 1991. She took the job in 1992, coinciding with the state’s oldest art museum’s centennial. She oversaw an aggressive expansion of the permanent collection with acquisitions of works by Francis Bacon, the world’s largest collections of Robert Motherwell, Wangechi Mutu of Kenya and the Nigerian American Njideka Akunyili Crosby.
When its growing collection required a new home, she oversaw the construction of a new building designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect Tadao Ando and opened in 2002. Peter Plagens wrote in Artforum that “If everything goes according to design [it] will have turned itself into the most elegant museum in the entire country.” (Plagens was a huge fan of the neighboring Kimbell as well.)
A larger building allowed for more ambitious exhibits like “KAWS: WHERE THE END STARTS,” “Mark Bradford: End Papers” and “Lucian Freud: Portraits,” and dedicated space for the collection. An expanded lobby, auditorium and large café created more opportunities to engage the community.
Board Chair Marsland Moncrief and Board President Rafael Garza praised her leadership.
“The Modern has become an outstanding star on a national and international scale, while the mission has grown to be an inclusive community space for people to engage on different levels with the art of our time,” Moncrief said.
Garza commended “her artistic vision and commitment to scholarly excellence have cultivated a robust organization with devoted, longstanding supporters and staff.”
James Russell
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