The Return of the Gelman Collection to Mexico

Decades later, in 2023, the Zambrano family finalized the acquisition of the collection with the aim of returning it to Mexican hands and facilitating public access. The collection includes emblematic pieces, among them 10 oil paintings by Frida Kahlo, as well as works by José Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Rufino Tamayo, among others. Currently, the collection is exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art, where it has attracted over 50 thousand visitors, marking its first presentation in Mexico in nearly two decades. As part of its dissemination strategy, the Zambrano family signed an agreement with the Banco Santander Foundation for the administration of the collection, while the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature will oversee its physical condition and authorize its transfer. The model includes exhibitions both in Mexico and in international museums, with temporary export permits and the guarantee of return to the country. Although the management is handled by the foundation, ownership remains in Mexican hands, ensuring the preservation of this cultural heritage. The Gelman Collection, one of the most significant private collections of modern Mexican art, regains prominence after the formalization of an administration scheme aimed at guaranteeing its conservation and international projection. With over 200 works, the collection originated in 1943, when Diego Rivera painted the portrait of Natasha Gelman by commission of her and her husband Jacques. From then on, the collection grew steadily, particularly after Jacques's death in 1986, when Natasha, with the advice of curator Robert R. Littman, consolidated one of the most representative collections of 20th-century Mexican art. After Natasha's death in 1998, Littman took control through the Vergel Foundation, expanding the collection with contemporary pieces and European works.