Kimbell Art Museum Taps Peter Van de Moortel as Chief Conservator

Peter Van de Moortel, new Chief Conservator of the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth

On the heels of the retirement of Fort Worth’s Kimbell Art Museum’s former Chief Conservator Claire Barry, the Kimbell has announced the appointment of Peter Van de Moortel as its new Chief Conservator. He began his post earlier this month.

Van de Moortel has been the Associate Conservator for Paintings at the Kimbell since 2017, before which he was a Sherman Fairchild Fellow in paintings conservation at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Among his other previous positions, Van de Moortel worked at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, Belgium; the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage in Brussels, Belgium; and the Stichting Restauratie Atelier Limburg in Maastricht, The Netherlands.

During his time as the Kimbell’s Associate Conservator, Van de Moortel, like his predecessor Barry, worked to preserve and conserve parts of the Kimbell’s permanent collection as well as works from the Amon Carter Museum of American Art and the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, among other private collections and museums. Acquisitions made by the Kimbell under his examinations include a portrait of the art dealer Heinrich Thannhauser by Lovis Corinth, and Still Life with Mackerel by Anne Vallayer-Coster.

Conservation at the Kimbell Art Museum.

“I am especially delighted that we have found within the Kimbell’s own ranks the right person to lead the conservation department through the next chapter of its distinguished history,” states Eric M. Lee, Director of the Kimbell. “In the four years Peter has worked at the Kimbell, he has proven himself to be one of the outstanding conservators of his generation. The department will no doubt flourish under his leadership.”

Among other works under Van de Moortel’s examination and conservation over the past four years are works by Girolamo Romanino, Nicolas Lancret, John Sloan, and paintings by Winslow Homer, Frederic Remington, Salvador Dalí ,and Francisco de Zurbarán.

“During my four years in Fort Worth, I have come to know the Kimbell as a supportive environment with an incredible collection and staff,” says Van de Moortel. “I am very grateful to the museum leadership for their trust and confidence, and I look forward to aiding in the museum’s success going forward.”

For more information on the Kimbell Art Museum and its conservation department, please go here.