Kay Kimbell
Encyclopedia
Kay Kimbell was an
entrepreneur and philanthropist, especially as benefactor of the Kimbell Art Museum
.
Born to Benjamin B. and Mattie (Jones) Kimbell, he attended the public schools in Whitewright, Texas
, but quit school in the eighth grade to work as an office boy in a grain-milling company there, where he later founded the Beatrice Milling Company. This firm grew into Kimbell Milling Company, the pilot organization of diverse interests that Kimbell later founded or directed.
At the time of his death he was the head of more than seventy corporations, including flour, feed, and oil mills, grocery chains (Buddies, sold to Winn-Dixie
but later closed when the chain left the DFW market), an insurance company, and a wholesale grocery firm. In addition to pursuing business interests, Kimbell collected art.
He established the Kimbell Art Foundation in Fort Worth in 1935 and at his death left his fortune to the foundation, with directions to build a museum of the first class in Fort Worth. The collection of art that Kimbell and his wife amassed included many fine works by late Renaissance, French nineteenth-century, and American nineteenth-century artists, with a special emphasis on eighteenth-century English painters such as Leighton and Gainsborough.
The Kimbells' home in Fort Worth, Texas
was often visited by touring groups before the museum was completed, and a great many of the works in their collection were continuously on loan to area colleges and universities, libraries, and churches.
Kimbell married Velma Fuller on December 24, 1910; they had no children. Kimbell died on April 13, 1964 in Fort Worth, aged 77, and was buried in Whitewright, but was later re-interred in Fort Worth.
entrepreneur and philanthropist, especially as benefactor of the Kimbell Art Museum
Kimbell Art Museum
The Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, hosts a small but excellent art collection as well as traveling art exhibitions, educational programs and an extensive research library. Its initial artwork came from the private collection of Kay and Velma Kimbell, who also provided funds for a new...
.
Born to Benjamin B. and Mattie (Jones) Kimbell, he attended the public schools in Whitewright, Texas
Whitewright, Texas
Whitewright is a town in Fannin and Grayson counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 1,740 at the 2000 census.The Grayson County portion of Whitewright is part of the Sherman–Denison Metropolitan Statistical Area, while the Fannin County portion is part of the Bonham...
, but quit school in the eighth grade to work as an office boy in a grain-milling company there, where he later founded the Beatrice Milling Company. This firm grew into Kimbell Milling Company, the pilot organization of diverse interests that Kimbell later founded or directed.
At the time of his death he was the head of more than seventy corporations, including flour, feed, and oil mills, grocery chains (Buddies, sold to Winn-Dixie
Winn-Dixie
Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc. is an American supermarket chain based in Jacksonville, Florida. Winn-Dixie has ranked number 24 in the 2010 "Top 75 North American Food Retailers" based on 2009 fiscal year estimated sales of $7.3 billion by Supermarket News. and was ranked the 43rd largest retailer in the...
but later closed when the chain left the DFW market), an insurance company, and a wholesale grocery firm. In addition to pursuing business interests, Kimbell collected art.
He established the Kimbell Art Foundation in Fort Worth in 1935 and at his death left his fortune to the foundation, with directions to build a museum of the first class in Fort Worth. The collection of art that Kimbell and his wife amassed included many fine works by late Renaissance, French nineteenth-century, and American nineteenth-century artists, with a special emphasis on eighteenth-century English painters such as Leighton and Gainsborough.
The Kimbells' home in Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
was often visited by touring groups before the museum was completed, and a great many of the works in their collection were continuously on loan to area colleges and universities, libraries, and churches.
Kimbell married Velma Fuller on December 24, 1910; they had no children. Kimbell died on April 13, 1964 in Fort Worth, aged 77, and was buried in Whitewright, but was later re-interred in Fort Worth.
External links
- http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/KK/fki11.html
- http://www.kimbellart.org/index.aspx