The Kimbell is widely considered one of the best small museums in the world, both for its collection and for Louis Kahn's masterpiece of a building. The permanent collection is deliberately compact — about 350 works, every one chosen as a first-rate example of its period — and reaches from antiquity to the early twentieth century. There are major holdings of European painting (Caravaggio, Velázquez, Poussin, Cézanne), Pre-Columbian and Asian art, and a small but very fine collection of African pieces.
The free general admission and exquisite galleries make this an easy place to spend two or three hours. A 2013 Renzo Piano extension across the lawn houses temporary exhibitions; the original Kahn building remains the main attraction. The on-site Buffet restaurant has a strong lunch menu and a courtyard.