Just weeks before a historic collection of 20th-century Mexican art is slated to leave the country for an exhibition in Europe, a group of advocates is suing Mexico\u2019s principal cultural entity over allegations regarding the legal basis for exporting the nation\u2019s artistic heritage.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The three lawsuits were filed by the advocacy group Defendamos la Colecci\u00f3n Gelman (\u201cLet\u2019s Defend the Gelman Collection\u201d) on June 29 and July 1 against Mexico\u2019s National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (INBAL), the agency responsible for issuing export permits for artworks protected under cultural heritage laws. The legal actions concern the imminent international tour of a private collection that includes works designated as \u201cartistic monuments\u201d and thus subject to strict statutes regarding their circulation.<\/p>\n
Assembled by Jewish \u00e9migr\u00e9 film producer Jacques Gelman and his wife Natasha Zahalka in Mexico City in the 1940s, the recently renamed Gelman Santander Collection<\/a> comprises 161 works by artists including Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Jos\u00e9 Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Mar\u00eda Izquierdo. In January, it was announced that the Gelman Collection would be managed by the Santander Bank Foundation. A three-party, five-year agreement revealed that the collection had been under the partial ownership of the cement billionaire Zambrano family since 2023 and that it will depart Mexico later this year for a two-year tour that begins in northern Spain, where it will be shown as part of the inaugural exhibition program at Faro Santander, the bank\u2019s \u201cnew cultural project<\/a>\u201d set to open on September 8.\u00a0<\/p>\n About 30 works in the grouping are designated as \u201cartistic monuments<\/a>,\u201d meaning they may only leave the country temporarily and with INBAL\u2019s permission. While such works are legally restricted to one-year export and return permits, with the possibility of a two-year extension, the terms of an original agreement <\/a>seemingly licensed their international circulation through 2030, with the possibility of renewal.<\/p>\n In March, hundreds of Mexican cultural workers signed an open letter<\/a> calling for greater transparency surrounding the collection\u2019s travel, particularly with regard to the works of Kahlo.\u00a0<\/p>\n “It’s striking to see the disparity between the effort that has gone into repatriating the nation’s archaeological heritage, in order to enforce the law, and the lax way in which they are allowing the departure of major works, not only by the most relevant Mexican artist today, but by painters who, together, helped build a significant part of our national artistic identity,\u201d the letter read.<\/p>\n Of the 161 works, which include Kahlo\u2019s oil paintings \u201cSelf-Portrait with Monkeys\u201d (1943) and \u201cDiego in My Mind\u201d (1943), 68 are currently on view to the Mexican public for the first time in nearly two decades at the Museo de Arte Moderno in Mexico City. However, upon the closing of Modern Stories: Emblematic Works from the Gelman Santander Collection on July 19, they will depart for Spain with the rest of the collection.\u00a0<\/p>\n Upon learning of the change of the collection\u2019s name and its shuffling in ownership and management, art historian Francisco Berzunza and two friends formed Defendamos. They soon began asking questions regarding the duration of the protected works\u2019 export and speculation that the Zambranos took out a $150 million loan on the collection<\/a>. They also questioned the specifics of the Zambranos\u2019 purchase of the collection in 2023 from Robert Littman<\/a>, the executor of Natasha Zahalka\u2019s will, who, according to Defendamos<\/a>, \u201csubsequently became not only curator of the collection, but also its owner, for reasons that are still unclear.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n In a statement shared with Hyperallergic, INBAL said that after leaving Spain, the collection will travel to the Fondation Beyeler in Basel, Switzerland, followed by the National Museum of Norway. In 2028, the works will return to Mexico for an exhibition at the Museo de Arte Contempor\u00e1neo de Monterrey, INBAL said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe agreement with Banco Santander Foundation is limited to research, conservation and international cultural programming,\u201d the statement said. \u201cIt does not entail the transfer of ownership or the sale of any artwork to foreign institutions. The name Gelman Santander Collection reflects this institutional alliance only.\u201d<\/p>\n In April, the Santander Bank Foundation also said that it \u201cwill comply at all times with Mexican laws\u201d and that the collection would return to Mexico in two years. The foundation has not yet replied to Hyperallargic\u2019s request for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n Even with these assurances, there are a number of requests that Berzanza says still have not been answered.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe government till this day has refused to show the permits, it refused to show the agreement, it refused to explain why Santander said that Mexican law is flexible,\u201d he said to Hyperallergic.\u00a0<\/p>\n Berzunza also said that such questions have even been met with hostility. The lead plaintiff in the lawsuits told Hyperallergic that members of the activist group have faced political backlash and other pressures in the weeks leading up to and after the filings, alleging that members \u201chave had funding withdrawn\u201d and that their relatives \u201chave had commissions canceled\u201d since the group initiated their public-facing actions in March.<\/p>\n