Bernard Lewin (September 30, 1906 – January 30, 2003) was a German-born American citizen who amassed the largest private collection of modern
Mexican art
Various types of visual arts developed in the geographical area now known as Mexico. The development of these arts roughly follows the history of Mexico, divided into the prehispanic Mesoamerican era, the colonial period, with the period after ...
in the world. Prior to his death in 2003, Lewin and his wife Edith donated more than 2,000 works of art worth over $25 million
to the
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum).
LACMA was founded in 19 ...
. Lewin was a personal friend of
Federico Cantu Rufino Tamayo
Rufino del Carmen Arellanes Tamayo (August 25, 1899 – June 24, 1991) was a Mexican painter of Zapotec heritage, born in Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico.Sullivan, 170-171Ades, 357 Tamayo was active in the mid-20th century in Mexico and New York, ...
and
David Alfaro Siqueiros. Lewin's collection included the only portrait of
Frida Kahlo by
Diego Rivera
Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez, known as Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957), was a prominent Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the ...
that was not part of mural. Other works donated to the Los Angeles County Museum included
Carlos Mérida
Carlos Mérida (December 2, 1891 – December 21, 1985) was a Guatemalan artist who was one of the first to fuse European modern painting to Latin American themes, especially those related to Guatemala and Mexico. He was part of the Mexican mura ...
,
José Clemente Orozco,
Rafael Coronel
Rafael Coronel (24 October 1932 – 7 May 2019) was a Mexican painter. He was the son-in-law of Diego Rivera.
His representational paintings have a melancholic sobriety, and include faces from the past great masters, often floating in a diffuse ...
, and
Francisco Zúñiga
José Jesús Francisco Zúñiga Chavarría (December 27, 1912 – August 9, 1998) was a Costa Rican-born Mexico, Mexican artist, known both for his painting and his sculpture. Journalist Fernando González Gortázar lists Zúñiga as one of the ...
.
References
External links
Lewin permanent collection at LACMAMexican Museum articleSlate article
American art collectors
People from Greater Los Angeles
American philanthropists
1906 births
2003 deaths
German emigrants to the United States
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