Famed Gelman Collection Will Return to Mexico by 2028
Fundación Banco Santander in Spain said it will return the Gelman Collection to Mexico by 2028, following an open letter signed by more than 200 art professionals criticizing Mexican authorities for allowing works to travel to Spain, according to dpa. In January, the foundation announced it would manage 160 of roughly 300 works amassed by Jacques and Natasha Gelman between 1941 and 1998 (Natasha Gelman died in 1998; Jacques Gelman died in 1986), including works by Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, María Izquierdo, José Clemente Orozco, Rufino Tamayo, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and others; 18 of the 160 works are by Kahlo. Some artists in the collection have been designated Artistic Monuments by the Mexican government, meaning their works cannot be permanently exported, only loaned for limited periods, and the letter argued that safeguarding such works is a public concern. ARTnews reports that the Spain-bound portion is owned by Mexico’s Zambrano family and that Mexico’s culture secretary, Claudia Curiel, said in a radio interview that the collection would return to Mexico “in about two” years, amid ongoing disputes and claims involving the collection’s estate.
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This story was covered in Restitution Reckonings and Museums on the Brink