Treasures from the Hispanic Society of America: Visions of the Hispanic World by Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid

Abstract

Reviewed by: Treasures from the Hispanic Society of America: Visions of the Hispanic World by Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid Debra Jackson Philippe de Montebello, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the Hispanic Society of America, espouses a quaint notion regarding the museum-going public. In a recent interview he surmised that tourists in Madrid—with limited time to enjoy the sights—would never go online looking for what's on view at the Prado. "You go for its collections," he quipped, "and if they happen to have a special exhibition, good." That claim may seem improbable in this age of free apps and social media platforms, but for this reviewer visiting Madrid last July, his assessment was correct. The highlight of my week in Madrid was an entire day at the Prado. The Prado visit included, to my astonishment, a special exhibition loan from the Hispanic Society of America. It was an incredible opportunity to explore the collections of an under-appreciated New York City institution located in Washington Heights on Manhattan Island's northern reaches. The Hispanic Society Museum and Library's uptown location (Broadway at 155th Street) is far off the beaten path for ordinary tourists visiting the city. Even for those with a keen appreciation of the visual arts it is an exceptional choice. Indeed, the Hispanic Society is home to "the most important collection of Hispanic art" outside of Spain. The loan to the Prado is a cultural exchange that is certain to raise the visibility and prestige of the Hispanic Society, which sent more than two hundred of its finest objects to the Prado while its home undergoes extensive renovation. In fact, it is the refurbishment of the Hispanic Society's 1905 building that prompted the loan, which was successfully orchestrated on this side of the Atlantic Ocean by Hispanic [End Page 147] Society curator Mitchell A. Codding and Board chair Philippe de Montebello. The challenges of organizing an exhibition for international loan are formidable, particularly ensuring the door-to-door safety of precious objects. Equally daunting for Mitchell Codding and his team of conservators and curators was the selection of just over two hundred works—from among the Hispanic Society's repository of 500,000—that will represent the finest examples of Hispanic culture. The sheer breadth and richness of the collections afforded abundant material from which to choose, and resulted in a presentation that spanned the ages from antiquity to the twentieth century. This was an artistic collaboration on a grand scale that the Hispanic Society's visionary founder would have heartily approved. Archer Milton Huntington (1870-1955) was a scholar and philanthropist, a true man of letters whose passionate interest in Hispanic culture inspired extensive travel, participation in archeological expeditions and the commitment of his considerable financial resources to the establishment of a "Hispanic Museum." Its opening was a goal he had cherished from his teenage years. Under the tutelage of Professor William Ireland Knapp of Yale University, Huntington became an ardent Hispanist, and traveled to Europe for the first time in 1882. He visited Spain for the first time a decade later, though his initial, direct experience of Spanish culture was in 1889 when he joined his parents on a trip to Mexico. Two years later a visit to Cuba afforded him "many new Spanish impressions." It is tempting to speculate how these travels in Latin America might have influenced his artistic tastes. But Huntington was clearly enthralled with Spanish society both in the New World and on the Iberian peninsula. Huntington's wide-ranging travels throughout Spain enhanced his cultural expertise while affording opportunities to meet dealers, collectors and to purchase fine objects. He had a keen eye for quality, and as a very young man displayed the confidence to acquire significant additions to his holdings; at the age of eighteen he purchased a large collection of coins from a private owner. And the acquisition of the personal library of the Marquis of Jerez de los Caballeros secured a collection so extraordinary that only Madrid's Biblioteca Nacional held comparable works. When Huntington's growing collections finally outgrew his residence, his dream of a museum materialized with the...