Bernard Lewin (September 30, 1906 – January 30, 2003) was a German-born American citizen who amassed the largest private collection of modern

Mexican art Various types of visual arts developed in the geographical area now known as Mexico. The development of these arts roughly follows the history of Mexico, divided into the prehispanic Mesoamerican era, the New Spain, colonial period, with the per ...

in the world. Prior to his death in 2003, Lewin and his wife Edith donated more than 2,000 works of art worth over $25 million to the

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum). LACMA was founded in 1961 ...

. Lewin was a personal friend of Federico Cantu

Rufino Tamayo Rufino del Carmen Arellanes Tamayo (August 25, 1899 – June 24, 1991) was a Mexican painter of Zapotec peoples, Zapotec heritage, born in Oaxaca City, Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico.Sullivan, 170-171Ades, 357 Tamayo was active in the mid-20th cen ...

and

David Alfaro Siqueiros David Alfaro Siqueiros (born José de Jesús Alfaro Siqueiros; December 29, 1896 – January 6, 1974) was a Mexican social realist painter, best known for his large public murals using the latest in equipment, materials and technique. Along with ...

. Lewin's collection included the only portrait of

Frida Kahlo Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón (; 6 July 1907 – 13 July 1954) was a Mexican painter known for her many portraits, self-portraits, and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. Inspired by Culture of Mexico, the country' ...

Diego Rivera Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957) was a Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the Mexican muralism, mural movement in Mexican art, Mexican and international art. Between 1922 and 1953, Rivera painted mural ...

that was not part of mural. Other works donated to the Los Angeles County Museum included

Carlos Mérida Carlos Mérida (December 2, 1891 – December 21, 1985) was a Guatemalan artist and naturalized Mexican who was one of the first to fuse European modern painting to Latin American themes, especially those related to Guatemala and Mexico. He was ...

José Clemente Orozco José Clemente Orozco (November 23, 1883 – September 7, 1949) was a Mexican caricaturist and painter, who specialized in political murals that established the Mexican Mural Renaissance together with murals by Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siquei ...

Rafael Coronel Rafael Coronel (24 October 1931 – 7 May 2019) was a Mexicans, Mexican painter. He was the son-in-law of Diego Rivera. His representational paintings have a melancholic sobriety, and include faces from the past great masters, often floating in ...

, and

Francisco Zúñiga José Jesús Francisco Zúñiga Chavarría (December 27, 1912 – August 9, 1998) was a Costa Rican-born Mexican artist, known both for his painting and his sculpture. Journalist Fernando González Gortázar lists Zúñiga as one of the 100 m ...

References

External links

Lewin permanent collection at LACMAMexican Museum articleSlate article
American art collectors People from Greater Los Angeles American philanthropists 1906 births 2003 deaths German emigrants to the United States {{philanthropist-stub