Far West Texas News

One of the Largest Private Collections of Chicano and Latino Art Comes to Blanton Museum

More than 5,000 works of art by U.S. Latino artists are now at the Blanton Museum of Art at The University of Texas at Austin as part of an initiative to expand the museum’s focus on Latino art. The artworks come from the Gilberto Cárdenas and Dolores Garcia Collection, one of the largest private collections of Chicano and Latino art in the world.

The Blanton, known for its collection of American contemporary art and one of the oldest and most distinguished collections of Latin American art in the U.S., has long been committed to exhibiting and researching Latino art, even before such efforts became more prevalent. This is one of the reasons Cárdenas, a former UT Austin professor and pioneer in the field of Latino art, and his wife Garcia, a UT Austin alumna who worked to advance Latino arts and academic programming at the university for 30 years, selected the Blanton to receive more than half of their collection.

“For decades, Gilberto Cárdenas has supported and championed Latino and Chicano artists, built an important collection, and consistently encouraged museums to feature Latino art,” said Museum Director Simone Wicha. “Latino culture is an essential part of U.S. culture, especially here in the Southwest, and our shared commitment to representing and amplifying Latino history and voices through art prompted me to begin this collaboration with Gilberto and Dolores.”

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