Museum Founders

It is with deep gratitude and profound respect that the Museum acknowledges it's co-founders, R. Crosby Kemper Jr. and Mary "Bebe" Kemper's gift of art that has been shared with the community and region for more than twenty years now.  The recent passing of Crosby Kemper has brought into sharp relief the extraordinary passion and commitment to the cultural and civic life of Kansas City to which his life was dedicated.  All that follows, both philosophically and in action, will stand in his shadow, while simultaneously shining a bright light on the possibilities of art impacting life.  The Kemper Museum stands today as a reflection and voice of our co-founders' unwavering belief in the beauty and power of art.

“My joy is to live surrounded by beauty, and what is more beautiful than great art? I do not feel that I possess art, but am merely the caretaker...”  – R. Crosby Kemper, Jr.

"The world's upheavals are a great challange to our universal sense of harmony, and it seems that the gift of art, whether it be painting, sculpture, film, music, or some other form, is one of the things that, if we let it, can restore the sense of peace in one's soul,"  – Bebe Kemper.