Encounter with the 1992 Gelman Catalog

El Universal delves into the art world's archival treasures, focusing on the 1992 catalog for the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of Mexican Painting. The piece captures a sense of nostalgia for an era when exhibition catalogs were substantial undertakings, serving as crucial documents for art history. The author's quest to find a copy highlights the enduring value placed on such publications, especially those detailing significant collections.

From a Mexican cultural perspective, the Gelman Collection is immensely important. It represents a significant private accumulation of Mexican art, and its exhibition and cataloging were pivotal moments in showcasing the nation's artistic heritage. The article lists a remarkable roster of artists featured, including Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and David Alfaro Siqueiros, underscoring the collection's depth and the Gelmans' discerning eye for talent.

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And who will have the catalog? It was the curiosity to have in my hands the starting point of what is today a plot of multiple facets, many of them still in controversy (another part was to remember the beautiful era when making exhibition catalogs was common).

The author's interaction with art historians and curators, such as Raúl Cano Monroy and Wendy Parra, emphasizes the collaborative nature of art scholarship in Mexico. The eventual discovery of several copies at the Casa Lamm library, a former repository for the Centro Cultural/Arte Contemporáneo archives, is a small victory for cultural preservation. This story resonates with a local audience that values its artistic legacy and the efforts made to keep its history accessible.

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Now it is up to show the public their Mexican acquisitions, equally important. It was these latter that motivated the Gelmans to become collectors and refined their appreciation of pictorial art. They made their first significant purchases in Mexico, and the quality and themes they chose set the standard for their subsequent acquisitions; that is, from then on, they selected the most renowned artists and collected paintings from them with a view to deepening their work.