William B. Jordan

When Jordan was offered the position of the director of the Meadows Museum at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, the museum was struggling with an art scandal that had damaged its reputation.[7] Forty-four paintings in the museum's collection had turned out to have been forgeries, including counterfeits by Elmyr de Hory.[8] Jordan visited the museum with López-Rey, and concluded that he would have to "essentially build [the collection] from scratch."[9] Algur H. Meadows, the museum's founder and benefactor, pledged US$1 million (approximately US$7.8 million in 2020) to replace their Spanish art collection, and Jordan accepted the job.[10]

The Meadows Museum, where Jordan became the founding director in 1967.

Jordan became the founding director of the Meadows Museum and chair of fine arts at the Meadows School of the Arts in 1967.[11] The museum closed for a few months, and Jordan began evaluating its collection with help from López-Rey and Diego Angulo Íñiguez.[7] Jordan revamped the collection by auctioning off paintings he deemed insignificant for a museum collection, and acquiring new paintings before the museum reopened; the collection included Yard with Lunatics (1794) by Francisco Goya, works of Bartolomé Esteban Murillo and Francisco de Zurbarán.[11] In a 1968 article, "A Museum of Spanish Painting in Texas" published in Art Journal, Jordan highlighted the museum's recently acquired paintings and stated that they had begun an acquisitions program to expand their collection further; he followed up on the article with the 1974 book, The Meadows Museum: A Visitor's Guide to the Collection, an illustrated collection catalog of the works in the museum.[12]

In 1971–72, Jordan organized an exhibition on a collection of works related to Dennis Hopper, and a postwar art exhibition of works by Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg and Wallace Burnett at the University Gallery of Southern Methodist University. He was involved in organizing Poets of the Cities: New York and San Francisco 1950–65 (1974), an exhibition on international contemporary arts, at the University Gallery and Dallas Museum of Arts.[13] In 1975, Jordan was appointed a full professor at the Meadows School of the Arts, where he taught courses on Spanish art history and connoisseurship.[11]

Jordan served as the general secretary of the American Society for Hispanic Art Historical Studies from 1976 to 1978, where he was a founding member.[14] He joined the Dallas Museum of Art as the adjunct curator of European art in 1977, a post he held until 1982.[15] He curated Dallas Collects: Impressionist and Early Modern Masters for the 75th anniversary of the Dallas Museum of Art in 1978. Jordan assembled 115 works from private collections in Dallas for the exhibition and published their scholarly descriptions in its exhibition catalog.[16] In the subsequent years, he became a member of the Board of Trustees, and member and chairman of the Committee on Collections of the Dallas Museum of Art.[15]

Jordan and Algur H. Meadows' final collaboration was the acquisition of Portrait of Queen Mariana (1656) by Diego Velázquez in 1978.

Jordan acquired several prominent works at auctions and from art dealers with Meadows' financial support, and significantly expanded the Meadows Museum's collection throughout his term. The collaboration continued until Meadows' death in a car accident in 1978.[11] He hosted the first exhibition of Patsy and Raymond Nasher's sculpture collection at the Owen Fine Arts Center of the Meadows School of the Arts in 1978; a collection that they subsequently expanded into the Nasher Sculpture Center.[17] In 1980, Jordan oversaw contemporary art exhibitions Paintings and Drawings by Cy Twombly, a scholarly study on works by Cy Twombly, and Livres d'Artiste by Braque, Matisse, and Picasso from the Collection of the Bridwell Library, featuring works in the university's Bridwell Library at the University Gallery.[13]

Jordan left the museum in 1981 but remained involved in the museum's activities, and was a member of the executive board of the Meadows School of the Arts until 2018. Jordan acquired around 75 works during his tenure, and helped develop the museum's sculpture collection at the "Elizabeth Meadows Sculpture Garden". His acquisitions included works by de Zurbarán, Diego Velázquez, Jusepe de Ribera and Murillo, six paintings by Goya from the 18th and 19th centuries, and 20th-century works of Pablo Picasso, Joan Miró and Juan Gris.[11] Jordan is widely credited for turning the Meadows Museum's collection into one of the most prominent collections of Spanish art outside Spain.[18]

Jordan left the Meadows Museum to join the Kimbell Art Museum in 1981.

In 1981, Jordan became the deputy director and chief curator of the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas.[19] The Kimbell provided Jordan a bigger budget to organize exhibitions and acquire paintings than the Meadows Museum.[20] According to Jordan, the museum had not hosted exhibitions of its own artworks before he joined, and they "began an aggressive exhibitions campaign to rebuild and expand the collection."[21] Jordan and Craig Felton, professor of art at Smith College, organized Jusepe De Ribera: Lo Spagnoletto, 1591-1652, the first exhibition to focus only on works by de Ribera in 1982 at Kimbell.[22]

Jordan served as the chairman of the scholars' committee that planned El Greco of Toledo (1982–83) to mark the 400th anniversary of El Greco's move to Toledo, Spain.[23] The committee also selected most works featured in the event; with 66 paintings gathered from several countries, the exhibition contained the most extensive collection of paintings by El Greco.[24] On display at the Prado Museum, National Gallery of Art, Toledo Museum of Art and Dallas Museum of Art, the exhibition was curated by Jonathan Brown, Jordan, Richard L. Kagan and Alfonso E. Pérez Sánchez.[25] Jordan also authored descriptive texts for the works in the accompanying catalog.[26]

Still Life with Sweets and Pottery (1627), assessed by Jordan as representing "the summit of van der Hamen's artistic output,"[27] was featured in the 1985 exhibition and on the cover of its catalog.

In 1985, Jordan curated Spanish Still Life in the Golden Age, 1600–1650 at the Kimbell and Toledo Museum of Art, the first exhibition in the United States to feature a broad range of still life paintings loaned from other countries.[14] The exhibition and its catalog, which analyzed the early history of still life paintings and artists of the Spanish Golden Age, were noted by Jordan's contemporaries for being one of the earlier scholarly works in the study of the genre.[28] Jordan was on the Art Committee of the Hispanic Society of America in 1986, and was knighted in the Order of Isabella the Catholic by the Spanish government at the Embassy of Spain, Washington, D.C. for his contributions to Spanish art history on February 18, 1986.[14]

In collaboration with Pillsbury, Jordan had helped the museum acquire over 40 paintings of European origin by 1987.[29] Jordan wrote an introductory essay on the museum's collection, which was published in the 1987 book In Pursuit of Quality.[30] He served as an editor of A Prosperous Past: The Sumptuous Still Life in the Netherlands, 1600-1700, authored by Dutch biologist and art historian Sam Segal. The book focused on still life painters of Europe, and accompanied an eponymous exhibition at the Fogg Art Museum, Kimbell Art Museum and Museum Het Prinsenhof in 1989.[31]

Jordan decided to retire in 1990 at age 50 — following in his father's footsteps, who had retired at 49 — and worked independently afterwards.[32] During his term, Jordan acquired important Spanish paintings such as Still Life with Oranges, Jars, and Boxes of Sweets (1760) by Luis Egidio Meléndez, Portrait of Heriberto Casany (1918) by Miró, Four Figures on a Step (1655–60) by Murillo and Portrait of Don Pedro de Barberana y Aparregui (1631–33) by Velázquez, and wrote descriptive labels for all European works in the museum.[33]

Jordan hypothesized that Still Life with Cardoon and Francolin (1628; left) by Felipe Ramírez was either inspired by Juan Sánchez Cotán's Still Life with Game Fowl, Fruit and Cardoon (1602; right) or a reproduction of a Cotán painting which is now considered lost.[34]

Jordan curated La imitación de la naturaleza: los bodegones de Sánchez Cotán (The Imitation of Nature: The Still Life of Sánchez Cotán) at the Prado Museum in 1992, which included six still life paintings by Juan Sánchez Cotán, and one by Felipe Ramírez.[35] He authored an eponymous catalog discussing life and influence of Cotán in context with the development of bodegóns (still life paintings depicting pantry items) in Europe, and how Ramírez could have imitated Cotán's works.[36]

Jordan and Peter Cherry, lecturer at Trinity College Dublin, curated Spanish Still Life from Velázquez to Goya (1995) at the National Gallery in London, which became the museum's most attended exhibition of the time.[37] In its accompanying catalog, they explored the complete history of Spanish still life paintings and artists, including the decline of the genre and the Spanish Golden Age, and how works of Meléndez and Goya and efforts by the Royal Academy revived interest in the genre subsequently.[38]

Southern Methodist University awarded Jordan with a Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa on May 20, 1995, "for his contributions to the world of arts and for the enrichment he has brought to the campus and the city of Dallas."[39] The Matthiesen Gallery organized An Eye on Nature: Spanish Still-Life Paintings from Sánchez Cotán to Goya (1997) exhibition at the Stair Sainty Matthiesen Gallery in New York City; Jordan authored its catalog, analyzing still life paintings and biographical details of artists featured in the exhibition.[40] He joined the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas as a member of the board of directors in 2001.[41] He was also a trustee of the center, and founding director and trustee of the Nasher Foundation.[42]

Jordan used Juan van der Hamen's Jean de Croÿ, II Count of Solre (1626; left), considered by art historians as one of the most important Spanish paintings from the 1620s, and The Appearance of the Immaculate to Saint Francis (1630–31; right), painted for the Franciscan Order and Spanish Crown as a part of a campaign to have papal recognition of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception, to illustrate the artist's versatility as a portraitist and religious painter, respectively.[43]

In 2005, Jordan published Juan Van Der Hamen Y León and the Court of Madrid, featuring results of his work of over 40 years on van der Hamen.[44] Jordan focused on van der Hamen's role in the court of Philip IV during the 1620s, discussed his place among significant Spanish Baroque painters, and emphasized on his versatility by assessing his portraits and religious paintings alongside his still life paintings, which he is best known for.[45] He curated an eponymous exhibition — the first monographic exhibition of van der Hamen's paintings — which was displayed at the Patrimonio Nacional in Madrid and Meadows Museum in 2005–06.[46] The work was well received by art historians, with praise for Jordan's depiction of van der Hamen's complete artistic output and impact on the Spanish Golden Age.[47] However, there were reservations about the extent of significance Jordan assigned to van der Hamen's portraits and religious paintings.[48]

Jordan headed the search committee of the Chinati Foundation — where he had been a past president — to find a new director in 2010, leading to the appointment of Thomas Kellein.[49] He worked with Olivier Meslay at the Dallas Museum of Art to create an exhibition and a catalog of modern European paintings in local private collections to promote local collecting in 2013.[20] They curated Mind's Eye: Masterworks on Paper from David to Cézanne the following year with over 120 works on paper of 70 artists from the 18th to 20th century, taken from local private collections and the museum.[50] In 2017, the Prado Museum appointed Jordan as an honorary trustee.[1]

Jordan died on January 22, 2018, at William P. Clements Jr. University Hospital from complications of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.[2] He was buried at the Hillcrest Mausoleum and Memorial Park in Dallas.[51] Jordan was compiling a catalogue raisonné of van der Hamen when he died.[4]

Jordan maintained an art collection with his husband Robert Dean Brownlee at their residence in Turtle Creek, Dallas, which included various types of visual art.[61] Jordan's most notable acquisition was of Portrait of Philip III (1623–31) by Velázquez in 1988.[62] He purchased the piece for £1,000 at a London auction, where it was titled Portrait of a gentleman painted by a follower of Justus Sustermans. Jordan believed it to be a painting by Velázquez instead, done in preparation of The Expulsion of the Moriscos (1627), which is considered by historians to have been burned in the Royal Alcázar of Madrid fire of 1734.[63]

According to Jordan, Philip III's depiction of looking upwards suggested that Portrait of Philip III (1623–31) by Diego Velázquez was not a standalone portrait.

Jordan found that historical descriptions of Philip III in The Expulsion of the Moriscos match the expressions and direction of Portrait of Philip III. He also concluded that the style and details of Portrait of Philip III were similar to Velázquez's distinctive style of that period. He further reasoned that the unusual depiction of Philip III looking up, instead of forward and straight, indicated that the work was meant to serve as a model for another painting with a wider scene.[63] Jordan kept the painting in his private collection, and sent it to the Prado Museum for authentication in 2015.[64] After the museum confirmed its authenticity, the painting was valued at around US$6 million.[65] In 2016, Jordan donated it to a non-profit organization, the American Friends of Prado Museum, which then gave the painting to the museum as a long-term deposit.[63]

The Dallas Museum of Art created a Works on Paper Department and established The William B. Jordan and Robert Dean Brownlee Endowment from donations from Jordan and Brownlee's estate in 2019.[66] They donated over 80 different works of art to the museum; 58 of them were works on paper. Their donation included oil paintings and furniture from the 19th and 20th centuries and other antiquities such as silver works, ceramics, and sculptures.[15] The museum organized an exhibition — Point, Line, Plane: The William B. Jordan and Robert Dean Brownlee Bequest — featuring around 50 of those works in 2021–22.[66]

The National Gallery of Art received a bequest from Jordan and Brownlee containing works by Alberto Giacometti, Edgar Degas, Ellsworth Kelly, Eugène Delacroix, František Kupka, Jacques-Louis David, John Cage, Pierre Bonnard, Picasso, and Twombly in 2019. The bequest included a sketch, a print, four medals, and 20 drawings.[67] In 2020, Nasher Sculpture Center received works by Claes Oldenburg, John Chamberlain and Miró as a part of a bequest from Jordan and Brownlee. It included My Father's Watch (For Bill Jordan) by David McManaway; McManaway had made the painting for Jordan using Jordan's father's watch in 1973.[68]

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