Colección de Arte Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat (Museo Fortabat)

Colección de Arte Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat (Museo Fortabat) Review

Argentina's richest woman, Amalia Fortabat, is a cement heiress, so it's not surprising that the building containing her private art collection is made mostly of concrete. It was completed in 2003, but after-effects from Argentina's 2001-02 financial crisis delayed its opening until 2008. Amalita (as she's known locally) was closely involved in the design, and the personal touch continues into the collection, which includes several portraits of her—including a prized Warhol—and many works by her granddaughter, Amalia Amoedo. In general, more money than taste seems to have gone into the project: the highlights are lesser works by big names both local (Berni, Xul Solar, Pettoruti) and international (Brueghel, Dalí, Picasso), hung with little aplomb or explanation in a huge basement gallery that echoes like a high-school gym. The side gallery given over to Carlos Alonso's and Juan Carlos Castagnino's figurative work is a step in the right direction, however. So are the luminous paintings by Soldi in the glass-walled upper gallery. They're rivaled, however, by the view over the docks below—time your visit to end at sunset when pinks and oranges light the redbrick buildings opposite. Views from the dockside café come a close second.