Image: Cau Ferrat Museum, Sitges
Museus de Sitges have announced the programme for the 15th ‘Jornada Mercat de l'Art, Col·leccionisme i Museus’, a one-day scholarly meeting set for 30 October 2026 at the Saló d'Or of the Palau de Maricel in Sitges, Spain. The museum consortium describes the event as a long-running forum for research on art collecting, the art market and the formation of heritage collections, and says this year’s edition will continue its focus on new studies and unpublished research.
According to the institution, the gathering has become one of the most established professional and academic appointments in its field in Catalonia and across Spain. It is coordinated by art historians Bonaventura Bassegoda and Ignasi Domènech, and is intended to bring together researchers, conservators, museum professionals, students, collectors and others with an interest in art history and heritage. Museus de Sitges says the meeting has, over 15 editions, helped deepen knowledge of Catalan and Spanish collecting and highlighted the role of collectors in preserving heritage and shaping public museum collections.
The Sitges location carries particular symbolic weight for the organisers. They point to the Cau Ferrat, created by Santiago Rusiñol, as the first art museum in Catalonia formed from the complete donation of a private collection, while the legacy of Charles Deering and the Maricel heritage complex also make the town a significant setting for the study of collecting history in Spain.
The programme will begin at 9.30 a.m. with institutional greetings from Txema Romero, director-manager of the Consorci del Patrimoni de Sitges, followed by a presentation of last year’s published volume by the coordinators. The day will then feature a series of papers on specific collections, collectors and episodes from the history of artistic heritage.
Among the presentations listed are Ricard Bru and Santos and M. Mateos on the Japanese painting collection of Cosme de Churruca Dotres, first Count of Churruca; Ester Baron, Clara Beltrán and Vicente de la Fuente on the brothers Montllor, Catalan antiquarians who settled in the United States; and Esther García Portugués on the legacy of Mariano Andreu at Museus de Sitges and the location of his works in public and private collections.
Other talks will include Anna Gudayol on books of hours, Jaume Espona and Catalan bibliophilia in the mid-20th century; a joint presentation by Bonaventura Bassegoda and Ignasi Domènech on collector Josep de Martí i de Cardeñas (1819–1903) through the inventory of one of Barcelona’s major 19th-century collections; Ramon Barnadas on the photographic collection of Carles Moner; and Francesc Miralpeix on the origins and survival of the mixed collection of Antoni Bofarull-Villar and the Torroja-Espuny house.
Museus de Sitges says the day will also include discussion sessions between speakers and attendees. Attendance is free, subject to capacity in the Saló d'Or, and registration opens on 12 September via the museum website. The event will also be streamed online.
