The National Museum of Fine Arts (), formerly known as the National Art Gallery, is an

art museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own Collection (artwork), collection. It might be in public or private ownership, be accessible to all, or have restrictions in place. Although ...

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, Philippines. It is located on

Padre Burgos Avenue Padre Burgos Avenue, also known as Padre Burgos Street, is a 14-lane thoroughfare in Manila, Philippines. The road was named after Jose Burgos, one of the martyred Gomburza priests who were executed at the nearby Bagumbayan Field (presen ...

across from the National Museum of Anthropology in the eastern side of

Rizal Park Rizal Park (), also known as Luneta Park or simply Luneta, is a historic urban park located in Ermita, Manila. It is considered one of the largest urban parks in the Philippines, covering an area of . The site on where the park is situated was ...

. The museum, owned and operated by the

National Museum of the Philippines The National Museum of the Philippines () is an umbrella government organization that oversees a number of national museums in the Philippines, including Ethnography, ethnographic, Anthropology, anthropological, Archaeology, archaeological, an ...

, was founded in 1998 and houses a collection of paintings and sculptures by classical Filipino artists such as

Juan Luna Juan Luna de San Pedro y Novicio (, ; October 25, 1857 – December 7, 1899) was a Filipino painter, sculptor and a political activism, activist of the Philippine Revolution during the late 19th century. He became one of the first recog ...

Félix Resurrección Hidalgo Félix Resurrección Hidalgo y Padilla (February 21, 1855 – March 13, 1913) was a Filipino artist. He is acknowledged as one of the greatest Filipino painters of the late 19th century, and is significant in Philippine history for having bee ...

and Guillermo Tolentino. The neoclassical building was built in 1921 and originally served to house the various legislative bodies of the Philippine government. Known as the ''Old Legislative Building'' (also the ''Old Congress Building''), it was the home of the bicameral congress from 1926 to 1972, and the

Philippine Senate The Senate of the Philippines () is the upper house of Congress, the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, with the House of Representatives as the lower house. The Senate is composed of 24 senators who are elected at-large (the country f ...

from 1987 to 1997.

History

The building was originally designed by the Bureau of Public Works (precursor of the

Department of Public Works and Highways The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH; ) is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for serving as the country's engineering and construction arm. It is tasked with implementing the government's policy to ...

) Consulting Architect Ralph Harrington Doane and Antonio Toledo in 1918, and was intended to be the future home of the

National Library of the Philippines The National Library of the Philippines ( or , abbreviated NLP, ) is the Philippines' official national library, repository of information on cultural heritage and other literary resources. It is located in the district of Ermita, Manila, Ermit ...

, according to the Plan of Manila of Daniel H. Burnham. Meanwhile, a Capitol building for the

Philippine Legislature The Philippine Legislature was the legislature of the Philippines from 1907 to 1935, during the American colonial period, and predecessor of the current Congress of the Philippines. It was bicameral and the legislative branch of the Insular ...

(established on October 16, 1916) was to rise on Wallace Field, just south of the library (the location is now María Y. Orosa Street in

). Instead, the Philippine Legislature decided to move into the Library building in 1926, and changes to the building's layout were done accordingly by architect Juan M. Arellano. It was built under the supervision of the

architecture firm In the United States, an architectural firm or architecture firm is a business that employs one or more licensure, licensed architects and practices the profession of architecture; while in South Africa, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark and ot ...

of Pedro Siochi and Company and the building therefore became known as the Legislative Building. The Second Regular Session of the

7th Philippine Legislature The 7th Philippine Legislature was the meeting of the legislature of the Philippines under the sovereign control of the United States from 1925 to 1928. Sessions Leadership Senate * President: Manuel L. Quezon ( 5th District, Nacional ...

was formally opened on the inauguration of the building on July 16, 1926, in the presence of Governor-General

Leonard Wood Leonard Wood (October 9, 1860 – August 7, 1927) was a United States Army major general, physician, and public official. He served as the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, List of colonial governors of Cuba, Military Governor of Cuba, ...

, then Senate President

Manuel L. Quezon Manuel Luis Quezon y Molina (, , , ; 19 August 1878 – 1 August 1944), also known by his initials MLQ, was a Filipino people, Filipino lawyer, statesman, soldier, and politician who was president of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1 ...

, House Speaker

Manuel Roxas Manuel Acuña Roxas (; January 1, 1892 – April 15, 1948) was a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the fifth president of the Philippines from 1946 until his death in 1948. He served briefly as the third and last President of the ...

, and Colonel Carmi A. Thompson, envoy of President

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. A Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer from Massachusetts, he previously ...

of the United States. It was concurrently the headquarters of the National Library from 1928 to 1944. Philippine Island - Manila - NARA - 68156735

In 1935, the

Commonwealth of the Philippines The Commonwealth of the Philippines (; ) was an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territory and Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States that existed from 1935 to 1946. It was established following the ...

was proclaimed, and the inauguration of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

were held outside the building. The building became home of the

National Assembly of the Philippines The National Assembly of the Philippines (, ) refers to the legislature of the Commonwealth of the Philippines from 1935 to 1941, and of the Second Philippine Republic during the Japanese occupation. The National Assembly of the Commonwealth w ...

, and it was subsequently known as the National Assembly Building. In 1940, the National Assembly was replaced by a bicameral

Congress of the Philippines The Congress of the Philippines () is the legislature of the national government of the Philippines. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of an upper body, the Senate of the Philippines, Senate, and a lower body, the House of Representatives ...

, consisting of a Senate and House of Representatives. The Senate occupied the upper floors while the House occupied the lower floors. The building would serve as home of the Commonwealth Congress until 1945. National Assembly building ruins

During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, American forces shelled the building during the Battle of Manila in 1945 to flush out Japanese forces who had turned it into a stronghold. Most of the structure was beyond repair, except for the still-standing central portion. With the inauguration of the

Republic of the Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of 7,641 islands, with a total area of roughly 300,000 square kilometers, which ar ...

in 1946, the building was reconstructed to be the home of Congress. It was rebuilt by the U.S. Philippine War Damage Corporation to the same dimensions but with less interior and exterior ornamentation. Reconstruction began in 1949, while the Congress moved back the same year. The two wings of the building were completed in 1950. The building was rebuilt mostly from memory, with the aid of a few remaining blueprints. The building became known as the Congress Building, and continuously served as home of the

until 1972 with the declaration of martial law. The Congress was effectively dissolved, and the building was padlocked. For a short time, the building became home of the offices of the

Prime Minister of the Philippines The prime minister of the Philippines was the official designation of the head of the government (whereas the president of the Philippines was the head of state) of the Philippines from 1978 until the People Power Revolution in 1986. During m ...

, a position established under the 1973

Constitution of the Philippines The Constitution of the Philippines (Filipino language, Filipino: ''Saligang Batas ng Pilipinas'' or ''Konstitusyon ng Pilipinas'') is the Constitution, supreme law of the Philippines. Its final draft was completed by the Philippine Constitution ...

, on the fourth floor, the

Ombudsman An ombudsman ( , also ) is a government employee who investigates and tries to resolve complaints, usually through recommendations (binding or not) or mediation. They are usually appointed by the government or by parliament (often with a sign ...

on the third floor, the

National Museum A national museum can be a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In the United States, most nati ...

on the second floor, and the

Sandiganbayan The Sandiganbayan () is a special Appellate court, appellate collegial court in the Philippines that has jurisdiction over criminal and civil cases involving Graft (politics), graft and corrupt practices and other offenses committed by public ...

on the ground floor. The building was called the Executive House for the duration of that time. The

was reestablished with the ratification of the 1987

. While the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

moved to the Batasang Pambansa Complex in Constitution Hill,

Quezon City Quezon City (, ; ), also known as the City of Quezon and Q.C. (read and pronounced in Filipino language, Filipino as Kyusi), is the richest and List of cities in the Philippines, most populous city in the Philippines. According to the 2020 c ...

, the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

used the original Congress Building for their plenary sessions. The Senate would use the Congress Building until May 1997, when it moved to the Government Service Insurance System Building on reclaimed land on

Manila Bay Manila Bay (; ) is a natural harbor that serves the Port of Manila (on Luzon), in the Philippines. Strategically located around the Manila, capital city of the Philippines, Manila Bay facilitated commerce and trade between the Philippines and ...

Pasay Pasay, officially the City of Pasay (; ), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 Philippine census, 2020 census, it has a ...

. The former office of the Prime Minister was taken as the Office of the

Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

. The building was then turned over to the

in 1998. On September 30, 2010, the

National Historical Commission of the Philippines The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP; ) is a government agency of the Philippines. Its mission is "the promotion of Philippine history and cultural heritage through research, dissemination, conservation, sites management ...

declared the building as a "National Historical Landmark" by virtue of ''Resolution No. 8'' (dated September 30, 2010). A marker commemorating the declaration was unveiled on October 29, 2010.

Collections

The museum contains a number of important works, including: National Fine Arts Collection * Juan Luna y Novicio: ''Spoliarium'' * Félix Resurrección Hidalgo: ''El asesinato del Gobernador Bustamante (The Assassination of Governor Bustamante)'' * Juan Luna y Novicio: ''Una Bulaqueña'' * Simón Flores y de la Rosa: ''Alimentando Pollos (Feeding Chickens)'' * Esteban Pichay Villanueva: ''The Basi Revolt series'' Other collections * Carlos Villaluz Francisco: ''Filipino Struggles Through History''; collection of the Government of the City of Manila * Vicente Silva Manansala: ''The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) series''; collection of IRRI * Juan Luna y Novicio: ''Interieure d’un Café (Parisian Life)''; collection of GSIS * Carlos Villaluz Francisco: ''Progress of Medicine in the Philippines'' (Panel I–IV); collection of the

Philippine General Hospital The Philippine General Hospital (also known as University of the Philippines–Philippine General Hospital or UP–Philippine General Hospital), simply referred to as UP–PGH or PGH, is a tertiary state-owned hospital administered and operated ...

* Vicente Silva Manansala: ''Mga Manok (Chickens)''; collection of AIA Philippines * Vicente Silva Manansala: ''Mga Magsasaka (Farmers)'' * Vicente Silva Manansala: ''Ang Pamilya sa Oras ng Pagkain (A Family at Mealtime)'' * Vicente Silva Manansala: ''Mga Manunugtog (Musicians)'' * Vicente Silva Manansala: ''Handaan (Feast)'' * Vicente Silva Manansala: ''Mga Isda (Fishes)'' * Vicente Silva Manansala: ''Mga Kalabaw (Carabaos)''

References

External links

*
Arkitekturang Filipino - www.arkitektura.ph - National Museum of the Philippines Building (Old Congress Building)History of the Senate of the PhilippinesHistory of the House of Representatives of the Philippines - Former BuildingsNHCP declares Old Legislative Building as National Historical Landmark
{{Philippine Registry of Cultural Property National Museum of the Philippines Buildings and structures in Ermita Museums in Manila Cultural Properties of the Philippines in Metro Manila National Historical Landmarks of the Philippines Neoclassical architecture in the Philippines Juan M. Arellano buildings Asian art museums

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

Buildings and structures of the Philippines destroyed during World War II

History

Collections

See also

References

External links