Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/1284206
A CLOSE ENCOUNTER WITH ANCIENT EGYPTIANS M illennia after the final pharaoh put down his scepter and the last rulers were entombed for their lavish afterlifes in the Valley of Kings and Valley of Queens, the ancient Egyptians continue to enthrall us. During the Carter administration, "Treasures of Tutankhamun" — a six-city American museum tour in 1976-1979 organized as a cultural gesture between Egypt and the U.S. — birthed the modern blockbuster. Flash forward five decades, and Egypto-mania remains at an all- time high, more bittersweet since traveling to the Nile is impossible in our COVID time, coupled with the Mid East geopolitical climate. But there's a grand way for Texas audiences to commune with the ancient Egyptians, and it's just weeks away, as the feminist-focused blockbuster "Queen Nefertari's Egypt" prepares to unfurl at the Kimbell Art Museum. The exhibition reveals what life was like during the New Kingdom (1539 – 1075 BCE), when the powerful monument-builder Ramesses II and his principal queen, Nefertari (her name translates as "the most beautiful of all"), reigned over the most elaborate and advanced civilization of the ancient world. The Kimbell exhibition includes 230 extraordinary art objects and artifacts, most on loan from the Museo Egizio in Turin, where archaeologist and Egizio director Ernesto Schiaparelli installed them after his 1904 discovery of Nefertari's tomb — the most exquisitely decorated in Thebes' Valley of the Queens. The exhibition offers a broad focus on the role of women in Egypt 3,300 years ago. Curator Jennifer Casler Price organizes a presentation that promises drama and visual treasures aplenty as it resuscitates from the sands of time one of the four seminal queens of ancient Egypt. And, there's a bonus: an in-depth look at a side discovery, the well-preserved village of Deir el-Medina, where a population of artisans and scribes outfitted the royal tombs, crafting remarkable objects for the afterlife of their inhabitants. "Queen Nefertari's Egypt," November 15 – March 14, at the Kimbell Art Museum, kimbellart.org. Watch for our upcoming Museums Delivered series, as curator Casler Price walks us through Nefertari's world, on papercitymag.com. Catherine D. Anspon I f you notice some blank walls around your château, art curation advisor Courtney McGrail is just a click away. After nearly a decade in New York, the Fort Worth native is back and has created CMG Art Advisory. As an SMU student, McGrail interned at Dunn and Brown Contemporary in Dallas before heading to New York's Pace Gallery and Galerie Mourlot, then serving as director for a private art advisor. Now McGrail is focused on helping clients assemble their own collections. "Once I connect with a client, I work with them on their specific interests and budgets and where they want to go with their collection," she says. Whether that means finding perfect art for your living room or setting a long- term goal of gifting a collection to a museum, McGrail oversees the process start to finish. "It's really about making collecting less daunting and more fun," she says. We're in. cmgartadvisory.com; @courtneymcgrail. Regan Landreth POSITIVE SPACE Model of Queen Nefertari's tomb, early 1900s Courtney McGrail with Matt Kleberg's Fan Tomb Bust, 2019 Right: Statue of Idet and Ruiu, New Kingdom, early 18th dynasty, circa 1480-1390 BCE COLLECTION MUSEO EGIZIO, TURIN, ITALY LAUREN WITHROW