1230 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10029
(212) 831-7272
www.elmuseo.org
What's
New?
This museum located on 104th
street is the unofficial northern boundary of 5th
Ave.’s Museum Mile. The surrounding neighborhood has long been
known as Spanish Harlem because of it’s many Puerto Rican and
Spanish speaking denizens. What better place to put a museum
dedicated to Puerto Rican and Latin American art, but in the
museum whose name translates into "The Neighborhood’s
Museum".
El Museo del Bario
contains over 8,000 works of art in it’s permanent collection
ranging from pre-Columbian artifacts to the work of contemporary
Latin American artists. The Museo del Barrio is known for it’s
strong collection of Puerto Rican art, but it also contains
numerous pieces from the Caribbean and South and Central
America. One of the most interesting sections of the permanent
collection surround the "Santos de Palo", 45 Saints
carved from wood.
The Museo del Barrio was
founded in 1969 against the background of the civil rights
movement and the call for a center of Latin American culture.
This was concurrent to the opinion that American museums in
general were too Eurocentric and tended to give other cultures
only a cursory look. El Museo del Barrio was originally housed
in a single classroom in Spanish Harlem, and from 1969 to 1976
it moved to several locations throughout the "Barrio".
In 1977 El Museo found a permanent home in the beautiful
Heckscher Building at 1230 Fifth Avenue.
Besides being the only
museum in the United stated dedicated to Puerto Rican and Latin
American art, El Museo del Barrio is an educational and
community center. Call ahead to find out more about lectures,
special exhibits and programs.
