AFA 20th Anniversary

20th Anniversary 90 www.afamag.com | w ww.incollect.com Fig. 6 : Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida (1863–1923), Children on the Beach , Spain, 1908. Oil on canvas, 32 x 41⅝ inches. Hispanic Society Museum & Library, New York (A2138). next two decades Huntington worked to create the premier institution in the United States dedicated to the arts and culture of the Spanish-speak ing world (Fig. 2). Since Huntington’s death in 1955 the collections have been significantly enriched through donations and acquisitions, and over the past twenty years, the acquisition of major works from Latin America has been a priority. Unrivaled offers a panorama of the Hispanic Society’s riches. Even though the Hispanic Society currently has a major traveling exhibition, Treasures from the Hispanic Society Museum & Library , that includes over two hundred of its most important works, Unrivaled is not short on treasures. Paintings by the great Spanish masters figure prominently in the loan exhibition, with works by El Greco, Zurbarán, Velázquez, Goya, and Sorolla. The portrait of Camillo Astalli, known as Cardinal Pamphili (Rome, 1650–1651), by Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (1599–1660), is undoubtedly the star (Fig. 3). In it, the full pictorial genius and amazing technique of Velázquez are on full display. Acquired by Huntington in 1904, this portrait was his first major acquisition for the museum. The Presentation in the Temple (1700s), from Peru’s Cuzco School (Fig. 4), bridges the gap between fine and decorative arts, with its two-dimensional overlay of f loral and foliate designs in gold leaf and spectacular carved gilt wood frame ornamented with hundreds of iridescent shell segments in swirling patterns set amongst cherubs and f lowering vines. Another highlight is the portrait of Pedro Mocarte (circa 1805–1806) by Francisco de Goya y Lucientes (1746–1828) (Fig. 5). The portra it of his friend Pedro Moca rte, a professional singer at the Toledo Cathedral, depicted in the costume of a bullfighter, exemplifies Goya’s work before the Peninsular War (1807–1814). With one of the finest collections of paintings, gouaches, and drawings by the Valencian master Joaquín Sorolla y