Page 53 - Studio International - April 1965

adequate room for display. Even though Abelló keeps
his own works strictly within the confines of his studio,
it is difficult to see how he can hope to add much more to
his collection without finding new outlets. Ultimately,
he hopes to present his treasures to the municipal
authorities of Mollet del Valles.
Meanwhile, this unusual artist has left another mark
upon his home town of Mollet. At the instance of a
certain Simeon Rabassa (a near-millionaire who from
poor beginnings has built up a large business in motor-
cycles at Mollet), he was commissioned to paint a
large symbolic mural in the rest home for old people
which Rabassa has had erected in Mollet. It is oppor-
tunities such as this which have enabled Abelló to

of a bird and a gay drawing by Matisse introduce a note attend to the upkeep of his museum and to add
of catholicity; and the large study by Estéve is comfort- occasionally to its contents.
ably at home among the abstract Spaniards. Neverthe- Abelló's heavy investment in the works of his con-
less, there is no denying that on the whole this is a temporaries has not been without considerable per-
Spanish collection with a marked Catalan accent. sonal sacrifice ; as the Spanish critic Cesareo Rod-
Millares is represented in an interesting early study, riguez-Aguilera puts it . .. he has made a home for an
and there are some good fragments by Celso Lagar. To important collection of modern Catalan painters and
be truly comprehensive, Abelló has found space for some non-Catalan artists . . . turning his home into an
petits maitres such as Grau Sala (Catalan of course), attractive place of artistic interest for the people of
but for every one such there is a Picabia or a Prim to nearby thickly populated Barcelona'.
emphasise that the museum stocks all kinds of artists.
Frankly, the only drawback at Mollet is the embarrass-
ment of riches. Abelló's mansion is full to bursting. Apart from many exhibitions in Spain, Abelló's
There is even a vast cabinet crammed with auto- own work has been shown in Britain at
graphed manuscripts and music (Granados, de Falla Halifax House, Oxford and at the Broadway
and Mosspou). The letters come from such divers Gallery, Worcestershire. Besides appearing
hands as Alfonso XIII, Marinetti, Stravinsky, and Miró. in several international collections, his work
The 'museum' is marvellous, but it is just too small to can be seen in the Courtauld Collection,
house the entire collection and give the separate items London and the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.