Overview
It is the most important modern art museum in Latin America. Created in 1972 as a space for popularizing contemporary art, this museum originated from the concern of a group of artists who expressed their support to the Government of President Salvador Allende through their work.
The collection consists of over 2,500 works –paintings, sculptures, engravings and photographs– which are on display alongside works by emerging artists.
History
This is a modern art museum, founded with the support of President Salvador Allende in 1972. Its peculiarity lies in the fact that its collection was formed through donations in response to a call for artists’ solidarity with Chile.
The first collection was completed during the period between 1971 and 1973, with over 400 works by different international artists, which were put on display only twice prior to the coup d’état. Following this, the collection was kept in store at the Museum of Contemporary Art.
In 1991, with the return to democracy, the museum was re-opened in the Palace of Fine Arts. Later it was housed in the building of the former Escuela Normal No. 1, built in 1886, where poetess Gabriela Mistral passed her examination to become an elementary school teacher.
Museum Collection
In March 2006, it was opened in a mansion in the quarter known as Barrio República, and is currently managed by the Art and Solidarity Foundation.
The Salvador Allende Museum collection includes over 2,500 works covering the artistic movements from the 20th century and the avant-gardes of the 1960s, 70s and 80s.
First collection. Exhibits 450 emblematic works, including pieces by such renowned artists as Catalonian Joan Miró, Americans Frank Stella and Alexander Calder, and Hungarian Víctor Vasarely, among others.
Second collection. Exhibits the works compiled after the coup d`état of 1973. These works were donated for the Museums of Resistance during the exile period; they come from France, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Finland, Cuba, Panama, Mexico and Colombia.
Third collection. Consists of works donated by Chilean artists following the return to democracy.
The solidarity of modern artists is echoed in the new donations made by artists such as Daniel Cano¬gar, Euge¬nio Téllez, Juan Pablo Lan¬glois Vicuña and Car¬los Alta¬mi¬rano, among others, at the turn of this century.
República, 475, Santiago.