Chief Operating Officer

Chief Operating Officer ABOUT THE MODERN ART MUSEUM OF FORT WORTH

The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth was first established in 1892, making it the oldest museum in Texas and one of the oldest in the western United States. Founded by a group of forward-thinking women as the Fort Worth Public Library and Art Gallery in downtown Fort Worth, its mission evolved through the years. Consequently, the Museum has undergone several name changes and been housed in various buildings over the decades.

Although the word “modern” only became part of the museum’s name in 1987, it has always been dedicated to the art of our time.

The Modern Art Museum’s first permanent building was designed by the Bauhaus-trained architect Herbert Bayer and opened in 1954. The Cultural District began to develop around the site over the next few years, and with the arrival of new institutions such as the Amon Carter Museum and Kimbell Art Museum, the Modern modified its focus to international art from World War II to the present.

In 2002, the Modern relocated within the Cultural District to a world-renowned building designed by the Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando.

The Japanese architect designed an elegant concrete, glass, and steel building with 53,000 square feet of soaring, light-filled gallery space and landscaped grounds with outdoor sculptures. The building features a reflecting pond, theater, education center, gift shop, and café, creating a thriving gathering place for the community and beyond. Acclaimed for its concrete walls and glass sheath, with pavilions that seem to float on an expansive reflecting pond, the building allows for major exhibitions, insightful educational programming, and the most comprehensive displays of the Museum’s collection in its history.

The Modern is a center of lifelong learning and exchange, serving as a true “gathering space” in the city’s Cultural District. The Modern’s programs include tours, lectures by leading figures in the art world, youth and adult classes, art camps, workshops, and a range of small-group studio and gallery programs led by the Museum’s educators, docents, and community artists. “First Fridays” typically attract 500 to 600 people to the Modern and the Tuesday Lecture Series in the spring and fall provides special opportunities to entertain patrons, artists, and other supporters with intimate events.

Similarly, opening weekend receptions and dinners are well attended, drawing many for their chic and festive atmosphere. The Modern also presents critically acclaimed first-run films and partners with other local arts organizations to offer music, dance, and  July 2025, The Modern welcomed Halona Norton-Westbrook as Director, succeeding Marla Price, who had served the Museum for more than three decades. Norton-Westbrook has spent her first months becoming acquainted with the Board, other major patrons, and the Museum’s team, as well as the Fort Worth community members who have been supporters of the Modern for years.

She is focused on developing and implementing a strategic plan to grow the Museum’s stature and audience both locally and internationally.

The collection of the Modern is one of the primary catalysts to fulfill the Museum’s Mission: to collect and present international art dated after 1940 and create a welcoming environment for its public appreciation. Among all its activities, the art collection is at the heart of the institution. The Modern’s collection holdings now comprise approximately 3,000 works of art, which reflects the dynamic work of the Museum acquisition program, the efforts to enrich and diversify artistic perspectives represented in the collection, and provide visitors the opportunity to view, study, question, and learn from the most significant art and artist of our time.

Works encompass painting, sculpture, works on paper, photography, installation, film, and video and include art from Modern masters such as Francis Bacon, Dan Flavin, Philip Guston, Ellsworth Kelly, Roy Lichtenstein, Agnes Martin, Joan Mitchell, Robert Motherwell, Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, and Andy Warhol and can appear alongside…