Guillermo Jaim Etcheverry's valuable collection completes the Tigre Art Museum's holdings.

"An act of unusual grandeur," is how art historian José Emilio Burucúa recently described the donation of Dr. Guillermo Jaim Etcheverry 's art collection to the Tigre Art Museum (MAT). It was while he was in his place, absent for health reasons, to receive the decree from the Municipality of Tigre from Mayor Julio Zamora for the donation of 238 works by 107 artists . From now on, one of the ground-floor rooms dedicated to temporary exhibitions will also bear his name.

During the presentation ceremony, art historians, cultural managers, artists, and the general public toured with amazement and interest the valuable collection of 205 works on display in the main hall on the ground floor. Among them were Tulio Andreussi , president of the National Arts Fund, and Telma Castro, president of the Friends of the MAT Association.

Standing in front of Juan Battle Planas 's painting Two Blond Children Played (1963), the artist Jorge Sarsale excitedly commented that it was because of this painting that he decided to become an artist at the age of eleven . Upon completing primary school, his school's Cooperating Association gave him the book Storytellers and Painters of Eudeba, which included a reproduction. The anecdote is even more significant when considering the importance Etcheverry always placed on education, just as the MAT has done since its inception. Last month, the museum received 800 students from 24 schools on specially designed tours.

The collection, mostly paintings, plus drawings, prints and sculptures, until recently toured the home of the doctor, scientist and former rector of the University of Buenos Aires. We find works by Ana Weiss de Rossi, Emilio Pettoruti , Lino Enea Spilimbergo, Roberto Aizenberg , Juan Carlos Castagnino, Miguel Diómede, Enio Iommi, Carlos Alonso , Noemí Gerstein, Fermín Eguía, Pablo Suárez, Alicia Penalba, Josefina Robirosa, Mabel Rubli, Alfredo Londaibere. And some non-locals such as the Spaniards Eduardo Chillida, Joan Miró and Salvador Dalí , the Chilean Roberto Matta, among many others.

The exhibition design proposed in the gallery groups the works according to the institution's heritage classification from its inception: human figure, still life, landscapes, La Boca School, Modernism, and Tigre. The characteristics of Etcheverry's collection are completely in line with the museum's holdings . The donation was the result of a bond built over the years, consolidated by the institution's heritage and educational profile aligned with the collector's vision. During 2024, the museum team documented all the works in Etcheverry's home.

The museum's director for seven years, Graciela Arbolave , has been linked to the institution since its inception in her role as a restorer. A defender of the importance of heritage and the spirit with which it was founded, she commented to Clarín : “The MAT was born with relatively few works, around 170, and with missing ones. For example, Martín Malharro was not among the painters who had illustrated the Argentine landscape, and we were fortunate that two works by the artist were added to the Carlos Franck collection—donated in 2020. This is what happens to us with the Etcheverry collection, with artists we didn't have (Aizenberg, Pettoruti) or by the same artists we did have, and we managed to enhance them.”

“Artists possess the unique gift of making complex concepts accessible,” wrote Etcheverry in a text included in the MAT catalogue published in 2019. Always committed to education , the academic concluded: “Collaborating with the non-delegable task of educating humans is the mission of cultural institutions such as the Tigre Art Museum, which offers its community the opportunity to discover themselves and the best of its past and present heritage within its walls.”

His interest in heritage also materialized in actions such as the rescue of a series of fifteen historical portraits of UBA rectors . Through an agreement between the University, the National Museum of Decorative Art, and the Antorchas Foundation, under the supervision of Dr. José Emilio Burucúa, the series of 19th and 20th-century oil paintings was restored.

With this donation, the institution's collection now includes 708 pieces, focusing on Argentine figurative art from the late 19th and mid-20th centuries , but with an "extended arm" to contemporary art, plus the core dedicated to the Tiger. Also significant was the lifetime donation of engineer Carlos Franck in 2020, whose name now bears another of the museum's galleries.

The majestic building that houses this entire collection today was built in 1910 under the direction of architects Pater and Dubois. It originally served as a club and casino, known as the Tigre Club. In 1978, it was transferred to the Tigre municipality, and in 1990, its heritage restoration began to become a museum. Mayor Ricardo Ubieto decided to purchase the founding collection at public auction, using public funds to create an artistic and cultural legacy for the entire community. Next year, the institution will celebrate 20 vital years. This may not seem like a long time, but it has already left its mark on more than one generation in the best possible way.

Tigre Art Museum. Victorica Avenue 972. Wednesdays to Fridays, 1:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.; Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Until March 29, 2026. General admission: 5,100 pesos. Free for children under 12, persons with disabilities, and seniors with ID.