Did You Know You Can See Rare Picasso Works in Dallas? A Major Gift Transforms SMU’s Meadows Museum

Photo credit: The Meadows Museum and Bridwell Library at SMU

By Ana Cruz - Founder & Chief Editor

Did you know that one of the most important collections of Spanish art outside of Spain is right here in Dallas?

And it just became even more impressive. The Meadows Museum at SMU has received a major gift from the family of art collectors Robert Tonti and Tina Tonti, adding significant modern, postwar and contemporary works to the museum’s collection. The gift includes the Meadows Museum’s first drawing by Pablo Picasso, its first works by renowned Spanish sculptor Eduardo Chillida, and rare first-edition plates by legendary Spanish artist Francisco de Goya. For Dallas art lovers, this is a major cultural moment happening practically in our own backyard.

Even better, visitors can already experience part of this extraordinary collection through Picasso Beyond the Canvas, now on view at the Meadows Museum through January 24, 2027. The exhibition brings together 18 ceramic works by Pablo Picasso, many being displayed together publicly for the first time. Created between 1953 and 1963, the pieces reveal a side of Picasso that many people may not know. After World War II, Picasso became deeply interested in ceramics, experimenting with clay, painting, engraving and sculpture to transform ordinary plates and vessels into works of art. Highlights include the colorful Face with Pinched Nose (Visage au nez pincé) from 1959 and the striking Woman Lamp (Lampe femme) from 1955.

Why are Picasso's ceramics so fascinating?

Because they challenge the idea that great art has to live only on a canvas. Picasso saw clay as a more accessible medium that could bring art to a broader audience. He painted faces onto plates, transformed everyday objects into figures and combined elements of painting, printmaking and sculpture into a single piece. While some critics originally dismissed his ceramics as decorative experiments, today they offer another window into the creativity of one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. Picasso Beyond the Canvas gives North Texans the opportunity to see that experimentation up close without traveling to New York, Paris or Madrid.

And the Tonti family's gift extends beyond Picasso. SMU’s Bridwell Library also received 33 works on paper by American artist Jasper Johns, spanning more than four decades from 1969 to 2012. The collection includes lithographs, etchings, aquatints and prints featuring some of Johns' most recognizable images, including flags, maps, numbers and targets. Together, these gifts significantly expand SMU's art holdings and further strengthen Dallas as a destination for world-class art and culture.

If you live in Dallas-Fort Worth or are looking for something different to experience this fall, add the Meadows Museum to your list. Picasso Beyond the Canvas runs August 23, 2026 through January 24, 2027 at the Meadows Museum at SMU in Dallas. Whether you already love Picasso or simply want to discover a different side of his work, this exhibition is a reminder that some extraordinary cultural experiences are much closer to home than we realize.

Would you go see Picasso in Dallas? Send this article to your art-loving friend and make it a Dallas date.

Photo credit: The Meadows Museum and Bridwell Library at SMU