Delfina Entrecanales

CBE
Born
María Delfina Entrecanales de Azcárate

10 April 1927
Spain
Died1 April 2022 (aged 94)
NationalitySpanish
UK
Occupation(s)Arts patron and philanthropist
Known forFounder and Chairwoman Emeritus of the Delfina Foundation

María Delfina Entrecanales de Azcárate CBE (10 April 1927 – 1 April 2022) was a Spanish-British arts patron and philanthropist, established in England since 1946.

She was the founder and Chairwoman Emeritus of the Delfina Foundation, an independent not-for-profit organisation devoted to supporting artists through a residency programme and exhibition space in London. She retired from the board of trustees in 2020.

Early life

Entrecanales was born on 10 April 1927,[1][2] into an affluent family, in southern Spain, the first child of industrialist José Entrecanales Ibarra and María de Azcárate.[3][4] Her father, an engineer, was the founder of the company known today as Acciona[5] and her mother came from a progressive family linked to the Institución Libre de Enseñanza.[4]

By the end of the Spanish Civil War, many of her relatives were in exile and her father decided to send her abroad, away from Franco's dictatorship.[5] She moved to Oxford to learn English and stayed at the household of Robert Mortimer, a scholar and priest – who later would become the Bishop of Exeter – and his wife, who tutored her.[4] During her time in Oxford, she also met her first husband, a banker, with whom she had four children.[4] One of her sons died at the age of 17 in a car accident, a tragic event that marked her life.[4][6]

When her marriage ended, after 20 years, she decided to stay in England, instead of returning to Spain, and became a socialite and a patron.[5] In the 1970s, she bought a farm with several cottages in Little Bedwin, Wiltshire, where she hosted a number of musicians, providing them with accommodation and space to work. She first offered to her friend Robert Wyatt, formerly of the band Soft Machine, the possibility to set up his recording studio at the farm while he was recovering from an accident.[7] The resultant album was Rock Bottom, released in 1974, which included musical performances by Ivor Cutler, Hugh Hopper, Richard Sinclair, Laurie Allan, Mike Oldfield and Fred Frith, and was produced by Pink Floyd's Nick Mason.[8]

Even though her intention was to keep supporting musicians, following the advice of a friend who taught at the Royal College of Art, she decided to shift her patronage activity to the visual arts after realizing that the equipment musicians would need was far too expensive.[9] In the meantime, she married her second husband, Digby Squires, who was 25 years younger than her.[4] The couple stayed together for 30 years and worked together to establish the Delfina Studio Trust.[5]

Contribution to the arts

In 1988 the Delfina Studio Trust opened its doors at a former jeans factory in Stratford, east London.[5] Four years later, it moved to a bigger space in Bermondsey Street, a former chocolate factory that after being refurbished provided accommodation, studio rooms, a gallery and a canteen where artists could eat for £1.[5][7][10] A long list of artists were supported by the Delfina Studio Trust, including Glenn Brown, Jane & Louise Wilson, Keith Tyson, Mark Francis, Mark Wallinger, Tacita Dean, Thomas Demand and Tomoko Takahashi, among many others.[4][11] Some of those artists later became winners or finalists of some of the most prestigious awards in the sector, including the Turner Prize.[4][7][12]

After the end of her second marriage, Entrecanales withdrew from her activity as a patron for some time but then in 2005, during a trip to Syria with her close friend and international human rights lawyer Mark Muller, she decided to resume her work supporting artists.[4][5][7] In 2007, the Delfina Foundation opened to the public, housed in an Edwardian building near Victoria, in central London.[5] Although initially it had a particular focus on Middle Eastern and North African artists,[13] the work of the foundation is no longer limited to any specific geographical focus.[14]

Entrecanales then bought the house next door and combined the two properties into one unified structure, designed by London's Studio Octopi and Cairo-based architect Shahira Fahmy, which has space to host eight artists and also includes a library, communal kitchen, offices and an exhibition space.[10] Coinciding with the opening of the new building, the programme also shifted from a regional focus to a thematic approach,[5] starting with a pluriannual residential programme on "the Politics of Food".[15]

Unlike most patrons, Entrecanales was not an art collector and instead defined herself as a "collector of artists", having supported more than 600 artists worldwide with her philanthropic work: "The one thing I want you to make clear is that I am not a collector. I collect artists, not art!".[5] Establishing a deep connection with artists was what drove her work: "Meeting inspiring people, and inspiring other people. My relationship with the artists is why I've done it; all the other things, I don't care about it. I am like a grandmother, to all of them."[12]

In recognition of her contribution to the arts, Entrecanales was made a Commander of Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the Queen's Birthday Honours in 2012,[16] the year of the Diamond Jubilee, and she was also the recipient of The Prince of Wales Medal for Philanthropy in the Arts in 2013.[17] In 2016, a Spanish association of female entrepreneurs (Asociación Mujer Siglo XXI, based in Bilbao) also gave her an award for her patronage work.[4][6] She retired from the Board of Trustees of the Delfina Foundation in 2020.[18]

Death

Entrecanales' death, at the age of 94, was confirmed on 1 April 2022. No cause of death was given.[19][20][21][22]

References

  1. ↑ People of Today. Debrett's Peerage Limited. 5 April 2002. ISBN 9781870520218 – via Google Books.
  2. ↑ "Delfina Entrecanales: «Los artistas se sorprenden cuando me ven fregando»" [Delfina Entrecanales: "Artists are surprised when they see me scrubbing"]. abc (in Spanish). 1 February 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  3. ↑ "How we met: Delfina Entrecanales & Mark Wallinger – 'I don't know". The Independent. 21 February 2014. Archived from the original on 3 April 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Nieto, Maite (28 June 2016). "Delfina Entrecanales, la gran madrina del arte". El País (in Spanish). ISSN 1134-6582. Archived from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Spence, Rachel (11 October 2013). "Delfina Entrecanales: the patron who collects artists, not art". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  6. 1 2 "Delfina Entrecanales: "Mi vida está marcada por la muerte de mi hijo"". abc (in Spanish). 1 May 2016. Archived from the original on 9 April 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Delfina Entrecanales, la 'reina madre' del arte joven". Tendencias del Mercado del Arte. November 2015. Archived from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  8. ↑ "Rock Bottom - Robert Wyatt". Archived from the original on 31 May 2012. Retrieved 3 April 2022 – via www.allmusic.com.
  9. ↑ "Delfina Entrecanales, coleccionista de artistas". Sitio web del Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones. Portal Carta de España (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  10. 1 2 Magazine, Wallpaper* (31 January 2014). "Studio Octopi and Shahira Fahmy design the new Delfina Foundation in London". Wallpaper*. Archived from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  11. ↑ "How curator Salma Tuqan is raising the art profile of the Middle East". The National. 22 April 2019. Archived from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  12. 1 2 "How we met: Delfina Entrecanales & Mark Wallinger – 'I don't know". The Independent. 21 February 2014. Archived from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  13. ↑ "Abbas Akhavan Site Specific Work At London Delfina Foundation". Artlyst. Archived from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  14. ↑ "Delfina's Thematic Programmes". Delfina Foundation. Archived from the original on 18 October 2018. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
  15. ↑ "The Politics of Food". Delfina Foundation. Archived from the original on 6 August 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  16. ↑ "Queen's birthday honours list 2012: GCB, DBE and CBE". The Guardian. 15 June 2012. Archived from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  17. ↑ "Prince of Wales gives medals to 'art champions'". BBC News. 12 December 2013. Archived from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  18. ↑ "Founder and Trustees". Delfina Foundation. Archived from the original on 2 October 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  19. ↑ "Delfina Foundation Founder Delfina Entrecanales Dies Age 94 – Jnews". 3 April 2022. Archived from the original on 4 April 2022. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  20. ↑ "Celebrated arts patron Delfina Entrecanales dies at 94". The National. 3 April 2022. Archived from the original on 3 April 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  21. ↑ "Delfina Foundation Founder Delfina Entrecanales Dies Age 94". artlyst.com. 3 April 2022. Archived from the original on 3 April 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  22. ↑ "Delfina Entrecanales, arts patron who founded the Delfina Foundation, has died, aged 94". The Art Newspaper – International art news and events. 1 April 2022. Archived from the original on 2 April 2022. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
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