The creation of “La Casa del Arte” in Montevideo was an initiative approved in 1928 by Enrique Rodríguez Fabregat (1895−1976), the minister of public education. The first events took place at the Teatro Albéniz, profiting from its infrastructure and were directed by the playwrights Carlos César Lenzi (1895−1963) and Ángel Curotto (1902−1990). The institution transcended Uruguayan aesthetic history; its projects were attractive and innovative but economically unsustainable. It was the first example of a public theater company, preceding the current Comedia Nacional (1947). According to Alberto Zum Felde (1887−1976), “La Casa del Arte” was “an exponent representative of the culture and of the country’s artistic production,” not only because it encompassed the areas of music and visual arts, but also because it constituted the first gesture made by the state relating to culture in a sociopolitical climate in which the idea of the “welfare state” had been consolidated. The institution had the set designer Guillermo Laborde (1886−1940) on board as one of the principal professors at the Círculo de Bellas Artes with a distinguished career as an artist, designer, and muralist, and who organized art exhibitions at “La Casa del Arte” with work by Pedro Figari (1861−1938), Rafael Barradas (1890−1929), and José Cúneo (1887−1977), being among the most prominent artists. Additionally, taking place at the center were exhibitions by the Escuela Industrial [Industrial School], where Laborde was a professor, exhibiting arts and crafts created with diverse artistic techniques, from upholstery to ceramics. [For further reading, please refer to the ICAA digital archive for the anonymous text “El fracaso de la ‘Casa del Arte’ (…)” (doc. no. 1197600)].