Activists Sue to Block Frida Kahlo Works from Leaving Mexico

A group of Mexican activists has filed three lawsuits against the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (INBAL) to prevent the export of the Gelman Santander Collection, which includes works by Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and other major Mexican artists. The collection of 161 works, assembled by Jacques Gelman and Natasha Zahalka in the 1940s, is slated for a two-year international tour starting at Faro Santander in northern Spain on September 8. About 30 works are designated as "artistic monuments," legally restricting their export. The advocacy group Defendamos la Colección Gelman, formed by art historian Francisco Berzunza and others, questions the legal basis for permits that may allow circulation through 2030 and alleges a $150 million loan on the collection by the Zambrano family, who acquired it in 2023. The group claims government hostility, including public shaming by President Claudia Sheinbaum. INBAL states the collection will return to Mexico in 2028 for an exhibition at the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey, after stops at Fondation Beyeler in Basel and the National Museum of Norway. The activists argue that the export threatens national cultural heritage and that Santander has dismissed legitimate concerns.