Southern Methodist University’s Meadows Museum is bringing four exhibitions on loan from around the globe to Dallas this school year with a Masterpiece in Residence exhibition focused on King Philip IV of Spain (1644) by Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, an exploration of the role of holy women in Spain and its empire, Vermeer’s Woman Reading a Letter alongside Dalí’s The Image Disappears, and over forty paintings from the Museo de Arte Abstracto Español in Cuenca, Spain.

“We look forward to this extraordinary program of international loan exhibitions and the opportunity to view masterpieces by Velázquez, Dalí, Vermeer, as well as Tàpies, Saura, and more within the context of the Meadows Museum’s exceptional collection of Spanish art. During the 2022–2023 exhibition season, visitors are invited to enjoy art of the highest caliber from a range of chronological periods in a new light,” said the museum’s director ad interim and curator, Amanda W. Dotseth. “Each exhibition brings something never seen before to North Texas and to the visitors of the Meadows Museum.”

The Masterpiece in Residence, Velázquez’s King Philip IV of Spain from The Frick Collection, will run September 18 through January 15. The painting will travel from New York City to the Meadows Museum, and will be displayed alongside three of Meadows Museum’s own paintings by the same artist. The Meadows’s Portrait of Queen Mariana (c. 1656) and Female Figure (Sibyl with Tabula Rasa) (c. 1648), offer further evidence of his artistic growth over his career and will be installed in the same gallery as the two portraits of the king, according to the museum.

At the same time, Meadows Museum will feature Picturing Holy Women in the Spanish Empire, 1620-1800 to explore the roles that female biblical figures, saints, and monastics played in the Spanish monarchy and empire. The exhibition is comprised of drawings, prints and rare books drawn from SMU’s Bridwell Library, a private collection and other works from the Meadow’s collection.Beginning in October, the museum will feature an exhibit titled Dalí/Vermeer: A Dialogue through January 15. The exhibition will examine Spanish Surrealist artist Salvador Dalí’s appreciation for the 17th-century Dutch master Johannes Vermeer by bringing together Vermeer’s Woman Reading a Letter from the Rijksmuseum in the Netherlands and Dalí’s The Image Disappears from the Fundacio Gala-Salvador Dali in Figueres, Spain. Several of Dalí’s prints from the Meadows Museum’s permanent collection will also be featured.

Attributed to Matías de Torres (Spanish, 17th century),A Group of Knights Adoring the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception,1630–60. Pen and mixed media on paper, 13 5/8 x 9 3/4 in. (34.6 x 24.8 cm). Meadows Museum, SMU, Dallas. Algur H. Meadows Collection, MM.70.12. Photo by Michael Bodycomb.

The last exhibition of the season will begin February 26 and last through June 18. The exhibition, In the Shadow of Dictatorship: Creating the Museum of Spanish Abstract Art, will have a comprehensive selection of Spanish abstract painting and sculptures from globally recognized artists and their Spanish contemporaries. The exhibition will travel from the Museo de Arte Abstracto Español, making its one and only stop in the United States. Altogether, the exhibition will feature her forty works from over thirty artists.

Eduardo Chillida (Spanish, 1924–2002), Abesti gogorra IV(Rough Chant IV), 1959–1964. Poplar wood, 38 5/8 x 53 1/8 x 54 in.(98 x 135 x 137 cm). Museo de arte abstracto español, Cuenca. Fundación Juan March, Madrid.Colección Fundación Juan March, Museo de Arte Abstracto Español, Cuenca; 0551E.

The museum is located at 5900 Bishop Blvd and is open Tuesday-Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Admission is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors 65 and over, $4 for students.