Rubí Eulalia Sanz Gamo (12 June 1952 – 16 May 2025) was a Spanish art historian, museum curator and public administrator. She was known for directing the Museo de Albacete for more than three decades and the Museo Arqueológico Nacional (MAN) between 2004 and 2010. She also served briefly as regional minister of Culture in

Castilla–La Mancha Castilla–La Mancha (, ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. Comprising the provinces of Province of Albacete, Albacete, Province of Ciudad Real, Ciudad Real, Province of Cuenca, Cuenca, Province of Guadalajar ...

and sat on numerous Spanish and international heritage bodies.

Early life and education

Sanz Gamo was born on 12 June 1952 in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. After completing

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

locally, she studied

art history Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history. Tradit ...

at the

Complutense University of Madrid The Complutense University of Madrid (, UCM; ) is a public research university located in Madrid. Founded in Alcalá in 1293 (before relocating to Madrid in 1836), it is one of the oldest operating universities in the world, and one of Spain's ...

, graduating in 1974. She earned a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

from the

University of Alicante The University of Alicante (, ; , ; also known by the acronym ''UA'') was established in 1979 on the basis of the Center for University Studies (CEU), which was founded in 1968. The university main campus is located in San Vicente del Raspeig/San ...

in 1996 with a thesis on the transition from Iberian to

Roman culture The culture of ancient Rome existed throughout the almost 1,200-year history of the civilization of Ancient Rome. The term refers to the culture of the Roman Republic, later the Roman Empire, which at its peak covered an area from present-day L ...

in the province of Albacete, published the following year as ''Cultura ibérica y romanización en tierras de Albacete: los siglos de transición''.

Career

Fresh from postgraduate study, Sanz Gamo tutored at the UNED centre in Albacete (1976–1984) before passing the state examination to join the Corps of Museum Conservators in 1986. Between 1983 and 2004 she was director of the Museum of Albacete and the director of the National Archaeological Museum (MAN) between 2004 and 2010. In August 1999, the regional president

José Bono José Bono Martínez (born 14 December 1950) is a politician of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE). He served as President of the Congress of Deputies during the 9th Legislature. Before that, he was the Minister of Defence of Spain fr ...

appointed her ''Consejera de Cultura'' (minister of Culture); although she stepped down in March 2000, she laid the groundwork for the network of archaeological parks in Castilla-La Mancha. The Ministry of Culture recruited her in December 2004 to lead the Museo Arqueológico Nacional. During a six-year mandate, she launched the museum’s architectural and museographic overhaul and curated the emblematic show ''Tesoros del MAN''. In 2008, she publicly defended the state's custodianship of the '' Dama de Elche'', arguing that public heritage "should not be fragmented". She also sat on bodies such as the Junta Superior de Museos and the patronatos of Altamira and Lázaro Galdiano. After returning to Albacete in 2011, she completed her career at the provincial museum. In parallel, she continued scholarly work, advising the Centro Botín exhibition ''Picasso Íbero'' (2021) alongside leading Iberian-art specialists.

Death

Sanz Gamo died in

Albacete Albacete ( , , ) is a city and municipality in the Spanish autonomous community of Castilla–La Mancha, and capital of the province of Albacete. Lying in the south-east of the Iberian Peninsula, the area around the city is known as Los Llan ...

on 16 May 2025, at the age of 72.

Awards and honours

Sanz Gamo received the Medalla al Mérito Cultural Extraordinario de Castilla-La Mancha in 2022, the Premio Rotary Club Albacete in 2012, the Premio Pablo Iglesias awarded by the Albacete branch of the

PSOE The Spanish Socialist Workers' Party ( , PSOE ) is a Social democracy, social democratic Updated as required.The PSOE is described as a social-democratic party by numerous sources: * * * * List of political parties in Spain, political party ...

in 2024, and the 2023 Prize of the Archaeology and Heritage Section of the regional Academy. She was also a corresponding member of the German Archaeological Institute (2007), the

Real Academia de la Historia The Royal Academy of History (, RAH) is a Spanish institution in Madrid that studies history "ancient and modern, political, civil, ecclesiastical, military, scientific, of letters and arts, that is to say, the different branches of life, of c ...

(2000) and the

Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (RABASF; ), located on the Calle de Alcalá in the centre of Madrid, currently functions as a museum and gallery. A public law corporation, it is integrated together with other Spanish royal aca ...

(1990).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sanz Gamo, Rubi 1952 births 2025 deaths People from Madrid 20th-century Spanish historians 21st-century Spanish historians University of Alicante alumni Complutense University of Madrid alumni Spanish art historians