To pay tribute to the city of San Antonio’s deep Spanish roots, curators from the San Antonio Museum of Art gathered 500 years of Spanish paintings from eight of Madrid’s museums and six United States’ museums to help celebrate San Antonio’s 300th birthday.
The exhibition runs from June 23 through September 16, 2018, providing locals and visitors ample opportunity to revel in more than 40 works of art by El Greco, Diego Velázquez, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Jusepe de Ribera, Francisco de Goya y Lucientes, Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida, Pablo Picasso and more, thanks to underwriting support by Bank of America.
The museum also is hosting a variety of Spain-related activities throughout the exhibition’s run. Art History professors will give free lectures on El Greco (July 31), Juan de Flandes (August 14), Goya (August 28), and Velázquez and Zubarán (September 11) at 6 p.m. on each of those evenings.
Every Tuesday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., SAMA will host a free Festivál de Arte (Festival of Art), featuring flamenco lessons, poetry readings, live music, art-making and films. Visit the museum’s Facebook page to learn more.
On Sunday, July 1, the museum will host a See + Do Family Day from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. Visitors will be able to create a landscape collage, a portrait and a seaside scene. No admission will be charged for children 12 and under.
The museum will host a ¡Viva España! Art Party from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, August 10. Free admission with a cash bar for cocktails created by the mixologists of The Esquire Tavern. Toro Flores with Zarabande will play live music, and gallery talks will take place at 5:30 p.m., 6:15 p.m. and 7:15 p.m.
On Friday, August 17, the museum will host Noche Blanca from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. Dress in summer whites for a music- and art-filled evening. Spanish food and wine will be available for purchase.
Admission to SAMA, which includes the exhibition, is $20 for adults, $17 for seniors, and $12 for students and military with ID. SAMA participates in the Blue Star program, and active military and up to five family members receive free admission to the museum through Labor Day. Children 12 and under are always free. During the free general admission hours (Tuesdays from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to noon), visitors will be charged $5 to see the exhibition.
The museum is open from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. It is closed on Mondays. Tours of the exhibit will be given every Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. and every Sunday at noon.
Chef Jason Dady recently relocated Tre Trattoria to SAMA’s Beretta Hops House overlooking the San Antonio River Walk, and items on the restaurant’s menu will complement the museum’s exhibition.
Denise Barkis Richter, Ph.D., has been blogging about San Antonio since June of 2010. Follow her at facebook.com/SanAntonioTourist. Her love affair with the Alamo City began at Hemisfair in 1968. Denise spent her junior year of college in Madrid, Spain, and she’s never gotten over it. Seeing one of her favorite Sorolla paintings at SAMA on the pre-opening tour was a dream come true. For even more ideas of fun things to do and see in San Antonio, visit Barnes & Noble or The Twig to purchase Denise’s book, “100 Things To Do in San Antonio Before You Die” .
