Collection of Conde de las Almenas, José María de Palacio y Abárzuza

Description

José María de Palacio y Abárzuza, Count of Las Almenas (1866-1940), an engineer by training, was a great collector in the first decades of the 20th century. He built up a magnificent collection of art, which included pieces mainly from the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, mainly sculptures, paintings, textiles, furniture, ceramics, gold and silverware, ceilings, tapestries, etc. A large part of this collection was housed in his home in the centre of Madrid, but also in the residence he had built in Torrelodones (Madrid), known as Canto del Pico. A mansion made up of artistic remains acquired by the Count during his lifetime. The building was declared a historic-artistic monument. In 1927 he sold a large part of his collection in New York to the American Art Association, thanks to the efforts of Arthur Byne and Mildred Stapley Byne. During the Civil War he lost his only son, and after the war his estate in Torrelodones passed into Franco's hands (Martínez Ruiz, 2005). 

Bibliography

• MARTÍNEZ RUIZ, María José (2006): "Las aventuradas labores de restauración del Conde de las Almenas en la Cartuja de Miraflores", nº 313-314, en Goya.
• MARTÍNEZ RUIZ, María José (2005): "Luces y sombras del coleccionismo artístico en las primeras décadas del siglo XX: el conde de las Almenas", nº 307-308, en Goya.