The German-Spanish collector has died in Madrid at the age of 88. She was a great patron of artists and a driving force behind ARCO, Spain's international contemporary art fair.
ADVERTISEMENTAfter a life dedicated to collecting and creating public spaces for contemporary art in the Iberian Peninsula, the art world is mourning the death of Helga de Alvear at the age of 88.
Born in the German region of Rhineland-Palatinate, she travelled to Spain for the first time at the age of 21 to learn the language and complete her studies in Hispanic Culture at the Complutense University of Madrid. There she met the architect Jaime de Alvear, whom she married in 1959 and with whom she had three daughters.
In a statement on her eponymous museum's website, director Sandra Guimarães said: "Thanks to her generosity and her unwavering commitment to society, today we have one of the most relevant international collections of contemporary art in Europe, and we can continue working to fulfil her dream: to transform people’s lives through art. Helga de Alvear has a place of her own in the history of contemporary art”.
Creating a collection
The origin of her collection dates back to 1967, when De Alvear became interested in the Spanish art scene and came into contact with the artists of the El Paso group, including Rafael Canogar, the last survivor of the movement.
In January 1980, she joined the Juana Mordó gallery, where she learned different trades related to the art world, from the management of collections to knowledge of the international art world, through fairs such as Art Basel, the Fiac in Paris and the Cologne Fair. In 1982, Helga de Alvear became one of the gallerists who decided to create the ARCO fair.
In 1995 she opened a new gallery under her own name in a space of more than 900 square metres next to the Reina Sofía Museum. This new project celebrated her commitment to international contemporary art and her special interest in photography, video and installations, that were largely unknown in Spain.
This passion led her to create a non-profit institution and an exhibition space for the 21st century, located in Cáceres. In 2006 the Helga de Alvear Foundation was established, followed by the Centro de Artes Visuales in 2010 and the 2021 inauguration of the Helga de Alvear Museum.
Helga de Alvear's life and professional career has been recognised with the Medal of Extremadura in 2007, the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts in 2008, the Cross of the Order of Civil Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (2004), the International Medal for the Arts of Madrid in 2020, and the Medal for Cultural Merit of the Portuguese Republic (2024), among other awards.
