Eduardo Costantini receives the Sorolla Medal in New York.

Costantini receives the Sorolla Medal in New York

Eduardo Costantini, founder and president of Malba, received the Sorolla Medal from the Hispanic Society Museum & Library on Thursday, October 29, in New York. The presentation was part of the institution's 2026 annual gala, held at The Metropolitan Club. The award recognizes his work on behalf of Hispanic art, as Infobae reported.

The distinction came in a special year for the Buenos Aires museum, which turns 25 and is going through a stage of growth. The same medal went to Gloria and Emilio Estefan, two artists and producers with weight in Latin music worldwide. The New York institution also paid tribute to the life and work of Dominican designer Oscar de la Renta.

The evening brought together people from the worlds of philanthropy, art, business and fashion. It was led by Guillaume Kientz, director and CEO of the Hispanic Society, and by Mark H. Rosenberg, chair of its Board.

A Malba that keeps growing in Buenos Aires

Malba is preparing an expansion beneath Plaza Perú, in Buenos Aires. The project carries the signature of Frida Escobedo's studio and promises to double the exhibition area. Its opening is expected for the end of 2029 or the start of 2030.

In September, during the anniversary celebrations, the museum announced the donation of the Daros Latinamerica Collection. It comprises 1,232 works by 117 contemporary Latin American artists. Costantini will also add 17 modern works from his personal collection.

Among those pieces are works by Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Leonora Carrington, Remedios Varo and Wifredo Lam. To secure the museum's future, the Malba Art Trust was also created, with initial capital of USD 50 million.

A record of prizes and distinctions

The Sorolla Medal joins other distinctions Costantini has received for his cultural work. In 2011 he obtained the Order of Rio Branco at the rank of Commander, for spreading Brazilian culture. In February 2017, the Fundación Arco gave him its A prize for collecting, for making Latin American art known through Malba.

In 2023 he won the Arteba Prize for collecting, and the City of Buenos Aires declared him a Distinguished Figure of Culture. In 2025 Queen Sofía presented him in Madrid with the International Patronage Prize. That year he was also named Emeritus Figure of Culture of the Argentine Nation.

The Hispanic Society and its link with Malba

The gala is the Hispanic Society's main fundraising event and supports its exhibitions, collections, research, education and public activities. The night featured music by Latin Grammy nominee Emiliano Messiez, performed by Gina D'Soto and Manuel Carro. There was also a flamenco show from the Cristina Heeren Foundation and, for the first time, an after-party.

The Hispanic Society was founded in 1904 on the initiative of American collector Archer M. Huntington. It operates in a Beaux-Arts building at Audubon Terrace, in Washington Heights, in northern Manhattan. It holds more than half a million objects, with works by El Greco, Velázquez, Goya and Sorolla, and its library receives visitors by appointment.

The two institutions will strengthen their relationship through a writers' residency. Malba's program will come to New York through Soledad Costantini, from Malba Literatura, together with the Hispanic Society Poetry Center & David Rosenmann-Taub Archive. The week of residency in New York will go, in 2027, to a poet writing in Spanish or Portuguese.

To understand the context

Malba is the Museum of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires and is celebrating 25 years. Its expansion will be built beneath Plaza Perú and, according to Infobae, will double the exhibition space, with an opening planned for the end of 2029 or early 2030.

The Daros Latinamerica Collection, with 1,232 works, and the 17 modern pieces Costantini will donate mark the growth of its holdings. From 2027, the Buenos Aires museum will also have a literary bridge with the Hispanic Society in New York.