Guatemala's Museo de Arte Colonial shut down by authorities

"On 29 December, authorities from Guatemala's Public Ministry (MP) arrived at the Museo de Arte Colonial in Antigua to demand the court-ordered relocation of 287 works of art. The collection had been housed inside the museum's 18th-century building for 89 years. The raid was the result of a local legal proceeding initiated by an undisclosed plaintiff who had alleged poor conservation conditions inside."

"A hasty two-week relocation, followed by the museum's closure, has raised concerns about the institution's future and the fate of its collection, which is now temporarily stored at the Palacio Nacional de la Cultura in Guatemala City. Six paintings, however, still remain in the shuttered museum building as they were too fragile to remove."

"The Museo de Arte Colonial opened in 1936 in an historic building that once housed the Universidad de San Carlos. "Its opening was part of the government's effort to promote Antigua as a tourism centre," Johann Melchor, a local historian and expert in Guatemalan colonial art, tells The Art Newspaper. "It housed key 17th-to-19th-century paintings and sculptures by Guatemalan artists like Tomás de Merlo and works by Cristóbal de Villalpando from New Spain.""

"The building is owned by the city of Antigua-a Unesco World Heritage Site since 1979. The city granted a renewable right of use to Guatemala's Ministry of Culture, which is responsible for the collection. "The agreement with Antigua expires in 2032, and we have not received communications indicating otherwise," Liwy Grazioso, Guatemala's cultural minister, said at a press conference in January. The court decision prompted an "emergency" relocation of the works, which continued until 12 January, when the MP shut off the building's security cameras and returned the keys to the city."

On 29 December, Guatemala's Public Ministry executed a court order to relocate 287 works from the Museo de Arte Colonial in Antigua, ending 89 years in its 18th‑century home. The move followed a local legal claim by an undisclosed plaintiff alleging poor conservation conditions. A two‑week emergency relocation led to the museum's closure and temporary storage of most works at the Palacio Nacional de la Cultura in Guatemala City; six paintings remain because they were too fragile to move. The museum opened in 1936 in a former Universidad de San Carlos building and housed important 17th–19th‑century Guatemalan and New Spain artworks. The city owns the building and granted use to the Ministry of Culture under an agreement running to 2032. Authorities shut off security cameras and returned the keys on 12 January, and officials have noted inconsistencies in the proceedings.

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