Professor Felipe Garín Llombart, who was director of the Museo del Prado and the Museo de Bellas Artes de València, among other art galleries, has died this morning at his home in the Valencian capital, sources close to the expert have confirmed to Europa Press.
Felipe Garín was born in Valencia in 1943 and developed a professional career devoted to the world of art. Director of the Prado Museum from 1991 to 1993, he was also named honorary director of the cultural institution after his dismissal.
Garín graduated in Law and was a doctor in Philosophy and Letters, from the University of Valencia, and in 1967 he joined the Facultative Corps of Museum Curators. Already in 1970 he won the chair of Art History at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the Universitat Politècnica de València.
From 1968 to 1990, he was in charge of the Museum of Fine Arts of Valencia and, between 1972 and 1987, the González Martí National Ceramic Museum, also in the city of Turia.
He was National Commissioner for Museums and Exhibitions and Deputy Director General of Museums from 1976 to 1979 and in 1993 he was appointed coordinator of the Institute for the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Assets of the Ministry of Culture, a position he held until 1995. Director of the Cervantes Institute in Rome. Furthermore, in 1996 he was appointed director of the Spanish Academy in Rome and in 2002, president of the State Society for Foreign Cultural Action, a position he held until December 2004.
In his extensive curriculum, there is also the responsibility of managing director of the Consortium of Museums of the Valencian Community and the Center of Carmen, from January 2012 to April 2016.
He was a member of the San Carlos and San Fernando Royal Academies of Fine Arts, the Hispanic Society of America, the International Council of Museums, the Board of Trustees of the Sorolla Museum in Madrid and the IVAM Advisory Council.
Likewise, he chaired the Permanent Commission of the Board of Trustees of the National Museum of Ceramics of Valencia, member of the Board of Qualification, Valuation and Exportation of Goods of the Spanish Historical Heritage of the Ministry of Education, and honorary director of the Museum of Fine Arts of València San Pío .
He was awarded the silver medal for Merit in Fine Arts and has an officer's appointment of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic and the commendation of the Order of Civil Merit. He curated numerous exhibitions and published various scientific works on museology and Valencian painting from the 15th, 16th and 19th centuries.
During his management at El Prado, the works of the fourth conditioning phase were completed, affecting more than fifty rooms. In 1992, Picasso's Guernica was moved from the Casón del Buen Retiro to the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, after which a complete remodeling of the building and rearrangement of the collections was carried out, as the cultural entity recalls on its website.
Valencian institutions have reacted to his death, as is the case of the First Vice-Presidency of the Consell, which has lamented the departure of the academic. Vice President Vicente Barrera has pointed out that Felipe Garín "is key to understanding the world of culture and especially art in the Valencian Community".
The president of the Consell Carlos Mazón has also communicated his "deepest condolences to friends and family of Felipe Garín, who dedicated his life to bringing art closer to us. He will always be recognized as a great connoisseur of the works of Joaquín Sorolla".
