More about Museo de Arte de Ponce
Works at Museo de Arte de Ponce
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The Ponce Museum of Art is the largest art museum in the Caribbean, the finest in Puerto Rico, and apparently one of the best in the Americas.
Does this sound like an ad? Well you can’t talk about anything in a tropical climate without it sounding like an ad so give me a break. Speaking of, while you’re on sprang break in the Caribbean, why not take a second to sober up and check out some damn amazing artwork?
The museum began with Luis A. Ferre, a guy who did lots of things. He was an engineer, an industrialist, the third Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and, most importantly, a patron of the arts. He decided to go to Europe and gather up as many art pieces as he could get his hands on. Eventually he collected so many that he figured he might as well open a museum. For shits and giggles, he decided to do the less common thing and build his collection based on worth, not popularity, because as any rich guy will tell you: popularity fades, but money lasts forever.
At some point in its history, the museum was rebuilt somewhere that was less likely to catch on fire than the original museum, and boy did they make it fancy. Good news for my hungover friends, the museum uses natural lighting in its special hexagonal exhibits which means no horrible fluorescent lights that make you want to die! You can gaze upon what has been deemed as “the most important collection of pre-Raphaelite works” in peace.
Sr. Editor
The Ponce Museum of Art gets its start from the future Governor.
Luis A. Ferré founded the Museum in 1959 using artwork he had purchased while on a whirlwind tour of Europe. Ferré was quite the Renaissance man studying mechanical engineering at MIT and later music at the New England Conservatory of Music. You can find his piano compositions on YouTube.
He was the third Governor of Puerto Rico and did a really good job:
- The economy was great with 7% GDP Growth and 10% unemployment
- He pushed measures that defended the federal minimum wage and ensured Christmas bonuses (uhm, hello USA, what’s up?!)
- Brought the voting age down to 18
- Toughened college scholarship initiatives
- Started the EPA for Puerto Rico before the United States did
He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1991.
You can thank him for saving Frederic Leighton’s painting Flaming June from obscurity. It now hangs as one of the key works in the museum.
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Here is what Wikipedia says about Museo de Arte de Ponce
Museo de Arte de Ponce (MAP) is an art museum located on Avenida Las Américas in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It houses a collection of European art, as well as works by Puerto Rican artists. The museum contains one of the most important Pre-Raphaelite collections in the Western Hemisphere, holding some 4,500 pieces of art distributed among fourteen galleries.
Museo de Arte de Ponce is the finest art museum in Puerto Rico. The largest art museum in the Caribbean, it has also been called one of the best in the Americas. It was the first museum in Puerto Rico accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.
It was founded in 1959 by industrialist and philanthropist Luis A. Ferré at a location in the Ponce Historic Zone. The museum moved to its current building location on Avenida Las Américas in 1965. In 2010, the museum increased its size significantly after a $30M expansion.
Check out the full Wikipedia article about Museo de Arte de Ponce
