Michael Auping is retiring as chief curator of the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth after more than 20 years with the institution.

“We are grateful to Michael for his enormous contributions to this organization, the Fort Worth arts community, and the art world over the past 24 years,” museum director Marla Price said in a press release. “His scholarship has elevated the Modern to international status among modern and contemporary art institutions. We thank him for his dedication, and applaud the legacy he leaves.”

Auping began his tenure at the Modern in 1993, after a position as chief curator at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York.

Senior curator Andrea Karnes will assume the management of the Modern’s curatorial department. And we can look forward to reading Auping’s work – he’s working on two books to be released in December, one on the Modern’s Ando building, and one a collection of conversations Auping has had with significant artists.

During his time with the Modern, Auping curated a number of memorable exhibitions. Here are just a few of his many highlights:

Frank Stella: A Retrospective 

Apr 17, 2016 – Sep 18, 2016

Frank Stella’s Gobba, zoppa e collotorto, 1985             Image copyright: 2015 Frank Stella/Artists Rights Society

Urban Theater: New York Art in the 1980s 

Sep 21, 2014 – Jan 04, 2015

Jeff Koons’ New Hoover Convertibles, Green, Red, Brown, New Hoover Deluxe Shampoo Polishers, Yellow, Brown Doubledecker   Photo: Tim Nighswander

Lucian Freud: Portraits

Lucian Freud’s
Large Interior, W11 (after Watteau)
Courtesy: Lucian Freud Archive