EL ALMA DE ESPAÑA

The Albuquerque Museum of Art and History in Old Town has spent the past couple of years undergoing a massive reconstruction.  Phase One opened back in February with 40,000 square feet added to the original building, including an 8,000 square foot changing exhibitions gallery.

The first major exhibition to fill the museum's new gallery is called El Alma de España or The Soul Of Spain, opening this coming Sunday -- April 17 -- as part of our city's Tricentennial celebrations.  It's the first exhibition devoted solely to the Spanish Masters ever shown in Albuquerque.

There will be nearly 100 works, paintings and sculpture, highlighting the range of art produced in Spain during the late sixteenth to early nineteenth centuries and will include such masters as El Greco, Murillo, Velasquez, and Goya.  These are being loaned from such renowned museums as Madrid's Prado, the Bellas Artes in Valencia, California's Hearst San Simeon Castle, and the National Gallry of Art in Washington, DC.

Opening day ceremonies, beginning at 1:00pm, will include presentations by various international art experts as well as flamenco dancing.