Fundació Bancaixa presents in Sagunt the exhibition „Atresorar Espanya,“ a selection of photographic collections from the Hispanic Society of America consisting of 60 snapshots that portray Spain from over a century ago. The exhibition brings to the public the photographic visions of contemporary Spain from Sorolla through images captured during the second half of the 19th century and the first three decades of the 20th century by a dozen photographers, whose work was acquired and encouraged by the founder of the Hispanic, Archer Milton Huntington, in his great endeavor to compile Spanish culture. The exhibition, which is free to enter, can be visited at the Glorieta Exhibition Hall until November 30th. These photographic collections arrive in Sagunt after being present in exhibitions of various formats in other cities such as Valencia, Alicante, Seville, and recently, at the Casa Garcerán in Segorbe.
The exhibition in Sagunt showcases a selection of 60 snapshots chosen from over 175,000 photographs that make up the Hispanic collections. Driven by his collector’s zeal and sponsorship of photographic campaigns, Huntington managed to assemble one of the most complete collections of photographs of Spain from that time, with scenes that undoubtedly reference the work of Sorolla, who painted for him the image of the Spanish regions in the Vision of Spain series. Through the photographic imprint, the exhibition documents not only the architectural, monumental, and urban heritage of Spain at that time but also its intangible and ethnographic heritage. The snapshots show views of parks, streets, and squares; monuments, civil and religious architecture; domestic spaces; daily social and religious life; clothing; work and trades; anonymous citizens and illustrious figures of the time with whom Huntington was associated, such as Sorolla himself or Unamuno.
In addition to its documentary and anthropological character, the exhibition also offers the added value of the unique perspective with which the photographers in the exhibition approach the Spanish reality. Some of the names that are part of the universal history of photography, such as Charles Clifford, Jean Laurent, Kurt Hielscher, Anna M. Christian, Ruth Matilda Anderson, or the Spaniards Emilio Beauchy, Josep Maria Cañellas, and Rafael Garzón, are featured. The exhibition is divided into three sections. The first part introduces the visitor to the personality of the founder of the Hispanic, A. M. Huntington, and the cultural environment in which he lived in Spain. In this section, images of Sorolla painting in Malva-rosa or accompanied by his family in Jaca can be seen, as well as scenes of other famous figures of his time such as López Mezquita, Unamuno, or Alfonso XIII. The second section focuses on the photography of Ruth Matilda Anderson, the protagonist of the exhibition through the images she captured with her camera during her various trips to Spain between 1923 and 1930. The photographer gathered more than 14,000 shots on her travels through rural areas, cities, and towns of Galicia, Castile, Extremadura, the Canary Islands, or Andalusia, starting from the Spanish imagery painted by Sorolla in his Vision of Spain. The exhibition closes with a selection of works by photographers from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who were incorporated into the Hispanic collection through acquisitions and donations, such as the very generous donation (over 16,000 photographs) from the Marqués de la Valle-Inclán. In this section, the work of Anna M. Christian stands out, a distinguished and wealthy lady of New York high society, a traveler and friend of Sorolla, who traveled through Spain in 1915. Through her photographs, not only does the family atmosphere of Sorolla and the cultural and human environment of Sorolla himself at the time he was immersed in the realization of the Vision of Spain come to light, but also typically Valencian scenes with landscapes such as the beach of Malva-rosa, Godella seen in the exoticism of its caves, or the Casa de la Duquesa de Pinohermoso in Xàtiva.
Also noteworthy in this section of the exhibition are the snapshots of the German photographer Kurt Hielscher, taken during his travels through Spain between 1914 and 1918. The section concludes with a series of photographs by authors both foreign (Charles Clifford, Jean Laurent, Georgiana Goddard King, or Winocio) and Spanish (Emilio Beauchy, Josep Mª Cañellas, or Rafael Garzón) that reflect views and customs of cities such as Seville, Malaga, Granada, Guadalajara, Madrid, Toledo, Martorell, Valencia, Segovia, Soria, Huesca, Valladolid, or Zamora.
With the aim of contributing to the development of Social Work through culture, Fundació Bancaixa has published an explanatory booklet about the exhibition that can be purchased for a solidarity price of one euro. The proceeds from the sale of these booklets will be allocated to the work carried out by Caritas Parròquia El Salvador de Sagunt. In this way, visitors to the exhibition can contribute to helping the most disadvantaged people.
The exhibition „Atresorar Espanya“ can be visited at the Glorieta Exhibition Hall in Sagunt from Tuesday to Saturday, from 5 pm to 9 pm.