Over a period of 50 years, São Paulo-based art collector Adolpho Leirner assembled an incomparable collection of Brazilian Constructive art. Acquired by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston between 2005 and 2007, the Adolpho Leirner Collection of Brazilian Constructive Art significantly added to the Museum’s rich holdings of Latin American art. The collection consists of nearly 100 extraordinary works by Concrete and Neoconcrete groups that flourished in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro between 1950 and 1965. Featured prominently are innovative works produced by leaders of these two groups—Lygia Clark, Waldemar Cordeiro, and Hélio Oiticica—as well as by independent artists such as Milton Dacosta, Mira Schendel, and Alfredo Volpi.
In 2016, Mr. Leirner enhanced this acquisition by donating his personal archive and library to the Museum. The archival holdings complement the artworks and jointly comprise The Adolpho Leirner Collection, Library, and Archive of Brazilian Constructive Art at the MFAH. Integrating materials located within distinct museum departments and repositories, the ICAA website is the hub for these interrelated holdings.
Explore resources from The Adolpho Leirner Collection, Library, and Archive below.
