Reception Commemorating the Gift to the Nation by the Tambunting Family
More Gifts to the Nation for the National Fine Arts Collection!
Yesterday, we welcomed patrons, friends, and guests to the reception and ceremonial turnover of two art pieces from the Tambunting Family at the Spoliarium Hall of the National Museum of Fine Arts.
Added to our growing collections are The Bust of Antonio L. Tambunting (2009, bronze) by National Artist Abdulmari Asia Imao, donated by Ambassador Jesus P. Tambunting and Family, and “The Portrait of Aurora P. Tambunting, (1956, oil on canvas) by National Artist Fernando C. Amorsolo donated by the Family of Antonio L. and Aurora P. Tambunting.
The Bust of Antonio L. Tambunting is exhibited at the Antonio and Aurora Tambunting Gallery entrance at the National Museum of Anthropology. The donor of the bust, Ambassador Jesus Tambunting, has supported the NMP through his endowment of a gallery honoring his parents and where this bronze bust of his father is now exhibited.
Antonio Lauengco Tambunting was born in Binondo, Manila on June 1, 1908. He was educated at Letran College. Mr. Tambunting joined his father’s pawnshop business in 1932, opening the first chain of pawnshop branches in the city of San Juan. During the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, amid the war and crisis of inflation in the country, Mr. Tambunting continued to provide financial support to the residents of Manila through his pawnshops. After the war, Tambunting Pawnshop expanded to other cities around the country. In 2010, Ambassador Jesus P. Tambuning commissioned National Artist Abdulmari Asia Imao to create a bust for his father, Antonio. The bust used to be displayed in the Head Office of Planters Development Bank where Mr. Tambunting served as the board’s first chairman.
National Artist Abdulmari Asia Imao (1936-2014) was a sculptor, painter, photographer, ceramist, filmmaker, researcher, and writer. He was born in Siasi, Sulu. He earned his fine arts degree at the University of the Philippines, and pursued graduate studies at Kansas University, Rhode Island School of Design, and at the Columbia University in the USA. He produced several photojournalistic and research works about the people of Mindanao. He also studied and promoted indigenous brass casting techniques. His works displayed the indigenous okir or ukkil, sarimanok, and other motifs from Southern Philippines. In 2006, Imao was declared as National Artist for Visual Arts, and was considered the first Muslim artist to be conferred with such distinction.
Aurora Paraiso Tambunting was born in Lumbang, Laguna on March 8, 1910. She was educated at St. Scholastica’s College. Mrs. Tambunting married Antonio L. Tambunting on June 12, 1926. They had seven children and 22 grandchildren. She was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother with innate business acumen. She was a generous woman who supported charity and church causes. She was one of the main benefactors of the Ina Ng Laging Saklolo Parish in Bagong Silang, Caloocan City, and Elsie Gaches Village in Muntinlupa. The Portrait of Aurora P. Tambunting may be viewed inside The Early 20th Century Philippine Portrait Hall, Gallery IX, of the National Museum of Fine Arts.
The artist, Fernando Amorsolo y Cueto, the first National Artist, was born in Paco, Manila on May 30, 1892. He studied at the Liceo de Manila and the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts (UPSFA). Entrepreneur Enrique Zobel de Ayala assisted him in securing a scholarship to study art at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid, Spain in 1916. After the war, his career went so well that his works portraying Philippine landscapes, everyday scenes (genre), and portraits were very in-demand. Commissions from institutions and prominent families poured in, such as this Portrait of Aurora Tambunting.
The #NationalMuseumPH, on behalf of a grateful nation, expresses our sincere appreciation and gratitude to the Tambunting Family for their invaluable gifts to the Nation.
Article by NMP Fine Arts Division. With contributions from Ms. Victoria Tambunting Alfonso
Photos by NMP Museum Services Division
© National Museum of the Philippines (2022)
