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 {{philanthropist-stub