‘Interesting’ feature, but inaccurate
Constantino C. Tejero’s article titled “Exhibit to uncover the mystique of Fernando Zobel” (Lifestyle, 6/23/14) is very interesting but carries some inaccuracies.
First, Zobel did not “flee the Spanish Civil War with his family.” Zobel (born in Manila, 1924), was only 12 years old in 1936, and his father, Don Enrique, was 60 years old at the time. Besides, they were not even in Spain when the Spanish civil war broke out, so they did not have to “flee” from anything.
Second, according to Tejero, they “settled in the Philippines in 1936.” The Zobel family had already “settled” in the Philippines several generations ago (10 generations at present, to be exact). So, there was no need for them to “settle” here, as they were already quite “settled” in the Philippines, living and working here.
Third, also according to Tejero, and I quote: “with some friends, he [Fernando] established the Museum of Spanish Abstract Art in Cuenca, Spain, which, years
later, he also gave away to a foundation.”
Fernando was the sole founder and creator of the Museum of Spanish Abstract Art in Cuenca, as he was also the sole donor of 350 works of art, painted by fellow artists of his generation, with which he started the museum in Cuenca.
Fernando had done the same thing before, here in the Philippines, when he founded the Ateneo Art Gallery in Manila, by donating to them his works of art, painted by his fellow artists from his generation, from the Philippines.
Contrary to what Tejero said, he did not “give away” the Cuenca Museum to a foundation. Rather, he legally donated the Cuenca Museum, in 1980 (four years
before his death), to the Fundación Juan March, a prestigious cultural nonprofit foundation in Spain, to preserve the continuity of the museum.
The Fundación conserves his museum as it was, and it is one of the most visited museums in Spain, as the Ateneo Art Gallery that he founded is one of the most visited museums here in the Philippines.
The rest of the article is quite accurate and, to repeat, all in all, is very interesting.
—GEORGINA PADILLA Y ZOBEL
Thank you for your corrections. The information was taken from a biographical sketch by art-history professor John Seed, which appeared in the March-April 2009 issue of Harvard Magazine. Regarding the “giving away” of the museum, Zobel was quoted as saying: “It was harder to give away a museum than it was to establish one.”
—CONSTANTINO C. TEJERO,
Lifestyle section, Inquirer
