It’s bad form to look a gift horse in the mouth, but that maxim came to mind when I learned that Carlos Slim’s Soumaya Museum of Art in Mexico City “opened” yesterday.
Slim, either the richest person in the world or close, depending on various market gyrations, has been building a new museum for his collection, which spans the 15th century through the 20th and is said to include 66,000 works. The museum is called Soumaya after his late wife, who died in 1999. The six-story building was designed by his son-in-law Fernando Romero, and includes a 350-seat auditorium, a library, a cafeteria, and a lounge along with galleries. Slim’s collection will be shown on a rotating basis.
According to the Associated Press (via NPR):
Inside, the Soumaya features 183,000 square feet (17,000 square meters) of exhibition space encompassing six halls.
One hall will house Slim’s collection of coins, bills, gold and silver, for the first time on display to the public. The others will showcase his collection of portraits, fashion and furniture; works by European masters such as da Vinci and El Greco; as well as 19th- and 20th-century paintings by Monet, Cezanne, Toulouse Lautrec and Van Gogh.
Other reports, including those by Reuters and AFP, say the initial display includes a large selection of Rodin sculptures and paintings by Diego Rivera and Rufino Tayamo.
Not known in general philanthropist, considering his wealth of more than $50 billion, Slim in this case has given a gifts to his fellow citizens — and the world. Admission will be free.
Slim will also maintain his previous Soumaya museum, a smaller affair in a different part of town.
This is all great, and I thank him. I wish Slim had not spoiled it a tad with his opening on Tuesday, a glitzy affair hosted by Larry King for 1,500 guests including Mexico’s president to Nobel Prize winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
The rest of us don’t get to see it until March 29. Reuters also said that:
Slim plans to build a huge development anchored by the museum that will include offices, apartments and shops with a price tag of $750 million for the first phase of construction.
That makes it seem a bit more like a business decision than a generous gift; earlier reports placed the cost of the museum at $34 million (pretty slim, no?). But then again the museum was supposed to have opened last year, and the delay may have meant an escalation in costs.
But I quibble, and I shouldn’t. I am eager to see the collection and the building myself, or at least to hear what the critics have to say.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of AP (bottom)