Our colleague William N. ("Bill”) Ambler (MA 1992) is a curator-on-leave from the Society, and has kindly agreed to show us around this remarkable institution. Only five weeks earlier, one of New York City’s most magnificent site-specific artworks, the Visión de España (Vision of Spain) painted by Joaquín Sorolla (1863-1923), will have returned to the HSA following its tour of Spanish museums that attracted 2,000,000 people—the most visited exhibition in the history of Spain.

Created in 1911-1919 expressly for the Hispanic Society, Visión de España is comprised of 14 canvases representing the people, landscapes, and customs of nine regions of Spain. The ensemble measures approximately 230 feet wide and is approximately 11 ½ feet high, with figures depicted at full life size. In anticipation of this masterwork’s return, the Society has renovated the Sorolla Gallery and part of the adjacent Main Court, which now will include early 20th-century masterworks such as Sorolla’s Beaching the Boat, Sea Idyll, and After the Bath.

For those who have never visited the Hispanic Society of America, this is an ideal opportunity to discover its comprehensive collections of Spanish artworks and books with someone who knows them thoroughly. There is no cost for this program, though the Society does depend on voluntary donations. Please RSVP by 1 June to Janine Catalano at Janine.catalano@courtauld.ac.uk. The group will gather in the lobby of the Hispanic Society of America at 2 pm sharp; please look for Peter Trippi there. (His cell phone is 917.968.4476.) The Society is located less than blocks from the 157th Street station of the 1 subway line.