Baroness plays down Málaga museum fiasco

The world of museum management in Spain has just posted a new record. Only 20 days after the Thyssen Museum in Málaga was officially inaugurated with a high-profile event featuring the actor Antonio Banderas, its future hangs in the balance after the director and the chief advisor walked out in disgust over interference with their work.

The crisis broke out on Monday, when museum director María López as well as advisor and trustee Tomàs Llorens (who used to be chief curator at the Thyssen in Madrid) quit over what they described as interference by the Baroness Thyssen - the owner of the art collection - and by Málaga Mayor Francisco de la Torre Prados.

The trouble began on March 23, when a new, all-powerful managing director was appointed, despite his lack of experience in running art centers - Javier Ferrer is a politician who has worked as "city hall coordinator" for the last decade.

"Collection is mine"

The baroness, Carmen Cervera, who loaned 230 works by 19th-century Spanish artists to the city of Málaga for a period of 15 years, played down the importance of the resignations. Llorens, she said, had already completed his advisory duties, and she suggested that López had been unable to adapt to life in Málaga.

"In any case, the collection is mine and I will do as I please with it," said Cervera, who won the Miss Spain title in 1961 and was married to US actor Lex Barker (of Tarzan fame) before wedding Baron Thyssen-Bornemisza in 1981 and becoming a patron of the arts. "I am the president of the trust and the mayor is the vice-president. No excuses are necessary. There are lots of great professionals in this country who are surely anxious to come to the museum."

López said she was "horribly disappointed" by the way things had turned out. "I am leaving out of dignity," she said. "I am too young to put up with just any kind of situation."