The possible departure of the Gelman Collection—which brings together dozens of works by Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Rufino Tamayo, and several of the country's most influential artists—to Spain has set off alarms in the cultural sector over a possible plundering, as artists, curators, and journalists have warned. This is one of the most important private collections of Mexican 20th-century art, which is currently on temporary display at the Museum of Modern Art (MAM) before being transferred to Spain under the management of the Banco Santander Foundation. This set of pieces (68 in total) is part of a tour that will begin in June of this year at the Faro Santander cultural center in the European country. The Santander Foundation takes over the management of the Gelman Collection As of January 2026, the Banco Santander Foundation has taken over the management of the Gelman Collection, which consists of 160 works gathered between 1941 and 1998 by the couple of collectors. The collection offers a broad representation of modern Mexican art from the first half of the 20th century, with works by artists, muralists, and photographers such as: Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, María Izquierdo, José Clemente Orozco, Rufino Tamayo, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Carlos Mérida, Jesús Reyes Ferreira, Francisco Toledo, Lola Álvarez Bravo, Manuel Álvarez Bravo, Gabriel Figueroa, Tina Modotti, or Graciela Iturbide. Of European origin, Jacques Gelman arrived in Mexico during World War II, where he developed a career in the film industry. Together with Natasha Gelman, they formed one of the country's most important art collections, guided by early support for artists and the acquisition of key works in their careers. A collection that, according to Camarena, can only be compared to that of Dolores Olmedo. Camarena warns that its shipment to Spain would not only go against the will of the Gelmans, but would also violate Mexican law, since “having a declaration as an artistic monument, its export can only be authorized temporarily and under strict supervision of the transfer and return from Fine Arts.” As a precedent, he recalls that in 2024, during the term of former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the Mexican government successfully halted the auction of the painting “Horse in the Circus” (1940), by María Izquierdo, organized by the auction house Sotheby's. In this sense, Camarena questions the conditions under which the Gelman Santander Collection will leave Mexico and poses a question to President Claudia Sheinbaum: “will she allow one of the most important treasures of the 20th century to leave Mexico forever during her term?”. Although authorities have assured that it is a temporary transfer, uncertainty about its return has generated concern about the possibility that they may be improperly seized. Controversy and doubts over the transfer of the Gelman Collection to Spain In his column titled “Simple question to the president about the Gelman collection,” journalist Salvador Camarena states that it was the will of its original owners, Jacques and Natasha Gelman, that this collection remain in Mexico as a cultural legacy for the country. However, after the death of the collectors, it passed to Robert R. Littman, the executor, and finally to the Zambrano family, who acquired it in 2023. The management was ceded to Banco Santander, without the details of this procedure having been made public to date. “In the cultural sector there is a whole debate about how the Santander Foundation came to have what was previously the Gelmans', who the Zambranos are who would have bought from Robert R. Littman, the executor, then owner, and under what conditions the collection will leave Mexico,” points out Camarena. Of the 68 pieces that will depart from Mexico for Spain, only 27 have a heritage declaration. Of these, 10 are by Frida Kahlo, in addition to an engraving and a drawing.
