Manuel Puig's Collection: The Soul of Art on Paper

Manuel Puig, a doctor of medicine, delivered his inaugural address to the Royal European Academy of Doctors on collecting rather than medicine. His private collection of about 250 works spans centuries of works on paper, framed by the late specialist Horacio Pérez-Hita. Puig began collecting at age 14 with a drawing by Josep Niebla. His collection is guided by the principle that drawing is the intellectual foundation of all arts, as defended by Giorgio Vasari and Alberto Giacometti. Significant works include pieces by Angelino Medoro, Antoni Tàpies, Salvador Dalí, Oskar Kokoschka, Henri Matisse, David Bomberg, Leon Kossoff, Frank Auerbach, Marià Fortuny, and Josep Guinovart. The collection also features historical frames, with 95% chosen specifically for each drawing by Pérez-Hita and his father. Puig also collects religious objects, especially silver crosses from the 13th to 17th centuries.