Soledad Lorenzo, one of Spain’s most important gallerists, has announced that she will donate her vast personal art collection to the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid. Featuring 385 artworks, the donation is composed in its majority of pieces from artists she exhibited in her gallery, including Antoni Tàpies, Miquel Barceló, Eduardo Chillida, Tony Oursler, George Condo, Julian Schnabel, Luis Gordillo, and Juan Uslé.

Museo Reina Sofía issued a press release stating that Lorenzo’s gift is of an unprecedented scale in Spain.

The gallerist has been a leading force on the Spanish contemporary art scene for decades. The daughter of an important painting collector, Pedro Lorenzo, she worked for several galleries until in 1986, when she started her own venture in Madrid. Lorenzo represented, exhibited, and collected key artists of the Spanish scene across several generations, such as Tàpies, Barceló, Sergio Prego, José María Sicilia, Itziar Okariz, and Ana Laura Álaez. She complemented her program with exhibitions by international stars such as Louise Bourgeois, Paul McCarthy, Robert Longo, Thomas Schütte, David Salle, and Alfredo Jaar among many others. She retired and closed her gallery in December 2012.

Soledad Lorenzo with the artist Antoni Tàpies in the 1980s
Photo via: Revista AD

The donation comes at a crucial point for Museo Reina Sofía. The reputed Madrid museum recently revealed its declining visitor figures and struggles to maintain a top-notch exhibition program amidst budget cuts, as the newspaper El País reported last week.

The large group of works donated by Lorenzo will allow the museum to reduce some gaps in its permanent collection, especially concerning art produced from the 1980s onwards, as the strong point of Museo Reina Sofía’s collection is the 20th-century avant-gardes.

“I think my donation will help Museo Reina Sofía expand its collection despite its current budget limitations,” said Lorenzo to the Spanish weekly El Cultural. “I have always felt very close to this museum. The only condition I requested was for the works to be visible and alive.”

Soledad Lorenzo between the artists César Manrique and
Joan Miró
Photo via: Revista AD