Treasures from the House of Alba

The treasures of the Alba family represent more than five hundred years of patronage and collecting of European art. The exhibition organized by the Meadows Museum at Southern Methodist University presents 140 objects from the Alba family's collection. Both the exhibition and this companion publication explore the family's wealth of paintings, sculptures, furniture, tapestries, and other objects, as well as the Alba archives and library. The artists represented in the exhibition include Fra Angelico, Titian, Rubens, Mengs, Goya, Ingres, Renoir, and Sorolla. The relationship of the Alba legacy to America is highlighted in decorative objects and in a selection of documents from the Alba library related to Columbus and his voyages. The essays in this publication shed light on the dynasty's particular interest in collecting tapestries; its patronage of writers such as Garcilaso de la Vega; the influence of Eugenia de Montijo, empress of France, who was directly related to the Alba family; the pivotal roles of the Seventeenth Duke of Alba and his daughter, the Eighteenth Duchess, in the twentieth century; and the three palaces--Liria, Monterrey, and Las Dueñas--that house much of the collection today. Finally, there is one biographical essay covering the life of the Albas as well as an article that discusses their artistic legacy.