The Lopez Group Foundation, Inc unveils to the public “The Patrimony of All – Ang Panublion sang Tanan – Paintings from the Lopez Museum and Library Collection, ” an exhibit showcasing the works of Juan Luna, Felix Hidalgo, Juan Arellano, and Fernando Amorsolo from the Lopez Museum and Library (LML) Collection on 25 November 2024. The exhibition is part of the celebration of the 77th Year of the UP Presence in Iloilo.

“The Patrimony of All” will allow audiences in the Visayas to encounter the works of Filipino masters, while also shining the spotlight on the rich architectural heritage and legacy of Iloilo. The paintings in the exhibit will range from the dramatic and monumental “La Barca de Aqueronte” by Hidalgo and the tragic “Christ down from the Cross” by Arellano to the romantic “Ensueños de Amor” by Luna and the famous bucolic scenes of Amorsolo’s “Native Fruits’.

The title given by exhibition curator Dr. Patrick Flores encapsulates the spirit of the endeavor. It is recognition that the creativity embodied by  Amorsolo, Arellano, Hidalgo and Luna belongs to all Filipinos.  It also foregrounds the ethos of legacy and stewardship that drives the Lopez Group Foundation and this project.  The artworks, artifacts and written material in LML were collected with a vision of providing Filipinos with the resources to learn about their history and culture.

The Lopez family, its foundations and corporations, while based in Metro Manila remains deeply rooted in Iloilo, the province of its origins. For more than a century, members of the Lopez family have been a involved in the community through their entrpreneurial, civic and philanthropic activites. From1878, when Iloilo was struck with a province wide famine, Kapitan Eugenio Lopez and his brother Claudio took it upon themselves to organize a relief operation using their own funds to 2006 when a disastrous oil spill affected Guimaras, the family donated 15 hectares of land to affected families, providing them with a place to live and livelihood programs.

Ingrained in the family and its institutions is a deep sense of responsibility for the Filipino people and culture. It is the spirit that drove Oscar Lopez to personally fund the restoration of the frescoes of the Jaro cathedral and LGFI to bring masterpieces from the Lopez Museum and Library collection to Iloilo. This project is  joint initiative of the Iloilo City Government, University of the Philippines Visayas and the Lopez Group Foundation, was conceived by former Senator Franklin Drilon in 2019 and is made possible through the support of Senator Loren Legarda.

The Patrimony of All runs from 25 November to 25 April 2025. About the curator Dr. Patrick Flores, born in Iloilo City, Philippines, is Chief Curator of National Gallery Singapore and concurrently Professor of Art Studies at the Department of Art Studies at the University of the Philippines. He is the Director of the Philippine Contemporary Art Network. He was a Visiting Fellow at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. in 1999. Among his publications are Painting History: Revisions in Philippine Colonial Art (1999); Past Peripheral: Curation in Southeast Asia (2008); Art After War: 1948-1969 (2015); and Raymundo Albano: Texts (2017).

He was a Guest Scholar of the Getty Research Institute in Los Angeles in 2014. He was the Artistic Director of Singapore Biennale 2019 and Curator of the Taiwan Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2022. About the Lopez Group Foundation, Inc (LGFI) The Lopez Group Foundation, Inc. (LGFI) serves as a hub for synergy and collaboration in coordinating the corporate social responsibility efforts of the Lopez Group’s companies and foundations.

These efforts find their expression in seven thematic advocacy clusters, namely education, arts and culture, children’s rights and development, livelihood and social enterprise, health and wellness, and humanitarian action, with environment and sustainability being at the forefront.   LGFI also serves as a steward of the Lopezes’ tradition of philanthropy in Iloilo and Guimaras.

This tradition traces its roots to the late 1800s when the forebears Kapitan Eugenio and his brother Claudio organized a family relief operation, using their own funds to distribute rice and money, for fellow Ilonggos who were stricken by a province-wide famine in 1878. Many other social development initiatives would follow, some on education, some on health and parenting, and others on livelihood.

One of the most significant contributions of LGFI to the nation is the preservation and propagation of Philippine art and culture, through the Lopez Museum and Library, which boasts of an impressive collection of Filipino paintings, especially of the masters Juan Luna and Felix Hidalgo, and of Filipiniana rare books, manuscripts and maps.  Testament as well to the importance that the Lopezes place on Philippine culture is their home in Iloilo, fondly called the boat house, which was declared a heritage house by the National Historical Institute in 2004.