Opened in January 2001, it is located on the third floor of the Fundación Eugenio Granell. Although it specialises in surrealist art, it also contains books about contemporary art in general.
It also houses Philip West’s bibliographic legacy. It consists of 7.000 bibliographic records.
Services:
. Reading Room
. Bibliographic information
Catalogue access:
http://www.opacmeiga.rbgalicia.org/ResultadoBusqueda.aspx?CodigoBiblioteca=CFB002&Valores=Incorporacions
LIBRARY GRANELL
In process of cataloguing
EUGENIO GRANELL’S LIBRARY AND PERSONAL ARCHIVE
The addition of Eugenio Granell’s personal library will significantly enhance the existing library, will provide researchers with resources that would otherwise be very difficult to access regarding themes that the Foundation specialises in and will be the primary source for studying Eugenio Granell’s work and personality.
The fact that it is the primary source and an indivisible heritage collection makes it absolutely necessary to keep it physically separate from the rest.
The artist’s personal library and archive is a key element in studying his artistic and human personality, especially in the case of an artist such as Granell whose most visible activity is that of a plastic artist, while undertaking important literary work and a profound political commitment at the same time.
Composition of the collection:
This is a collection with more than 15,000 volumes, which the artist compiled throughout his lifetime.
It is not a devotional library; it is a professional, practical and universalist library that reflects Granell’s interests.
Apart from logical themes on surrealism, similar tendencies and art in general, there is an important quantity of books on the civil war, undoubtedly a key subject for a political exile, many of which were published outside Spain.
Literature occupies an important place; we should remember that Granell lectured in this discipline. There is both Spanish literature and foreign literature, mainly in English and also in French to a lesser degree; as well as classical and contemporary literature in general.
Many books are signed by his friends, including some important figures in the history of culture.
We also find interdisciplinary subjects that complete the collection and reflect Granell’s multifaceted character, being of great historical and political interest:
Schematically, the main themes are: Surrealism, Civil War, Art, Literature, Ethnography and Anthropology, Psychology and Sociology.
Granell’s doctoral thesis is a sociological study on Guernica: Picasso’s Guernica: The End of a Spanish Era, Umi Research Press, 1967.
The collection features other interesting and important themes such as History, Religion, Philosophy, Bullfighting, Alchemy and Occultism.
– Serialised publication (477 titles):
In this case the subjects are very heterogeneous, but always related to Granell’s interests: Surrealism, Art, Literature, Politics, etc.
Magazines, newspapers and even collectables.
International surrealism magazines starting from the fifties.
There are magazines published by different universities where he lectured, such as, for example, La Torre from the University of Puerto Rico, where he coincided with Juan Ramón Jiménez, or Brooklyn College’s Brooklyn College Magazine. He also wrote a column for the University of Puerto Rico’s newspaper.
There is a surprising number of magazines published in France from the forties and fifties.
There are numerous political magazines due to Granell’s interest in this matter: Iniciativa Socialista, Cuadernos del Congreso por la Libertad y la Cultura, La Verdad, Ruta, La France libre, etc.
Also included are Spanish serialised publications, which he was subscribed to: Anthropos, Syntaxis, Esopo, etc.
– Brochures: Often of great value since they are the only existing testimony of certain events.
Many are from institutional exhibitions or art galleries, hand programmes or publication catalogues.
– Other materials: informative material, invitations, calendars, diaries, diptychs, etc.
– Compilation of thematic articles:
Articles and documentation cut out from magazines or newspapers covering a wide range of topics that interested Granell. Mainly about artists or artistic movements, but also politics, cities, musicians, animals, ecological themes, proper names, etc.
They are carefully organised in folders placed in files arranged in alphabetical order.
E-mail: biblioteca@fundacion-granell.org
