MACG has one of the country's most important art collections, built upon the that which Yucatec pediatrician Alvar Carrillo Gil integrated in the lapse of three decades (late thirties to sixties), and has been enriched with new acquisitions and donations since its institutional formation as museum in 1974.

Through his selection, Dr. Carrillo Gil sought to make his own vision of Mexican art known, placing it within international art history, and it was significant in its appraisal: from Orozco and Siqueiros, he favored their contemporary production, from Rivera acquired cubist works from before 1920, also generating a rich and varied collection in terms of the techniques used in the purchased works.

Collection Notes is the first part of a large scale revision project of the collection that
will serve to promote it, especially for educational purposes. Didactic material for the exhibition is expected to establish an interaction that deepens and enriches the experience of visiting the museum. To produce it we collaborated with graduate students from Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico and Universidad Iberoamericana, who made a series of descriptive cards that make up a collectible file available to the public. This first installment is dedicated to four of its principal authors: José Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros, Diego Rivera, and Gunther Gerzso.

Dr. Carrillo Gil tried to make his relationship with artists, whose works he acquired, overcome the business relationship, so he sought to maintain a friendship with them. Orozco and Siqueiros represent his greatest success in this sense, and thanks to this close connection his purchases were benefited.

The first works of José Clemente Orozco that make up the collection were acquired in 1938. This is an extensive collection for it virtually has all the techniques the artist from Jalisco used, plus it demonstrates the rich social and historical content of his work, acquiring a total of 164 drawings, watercolors, oil paintings, and engravings.
Little known, but no less important works are exhibited, especially the profuse prints acquired by the collector.

The acquisition of works by David Alfaro Siqueiros began in 1945. His closeness with the artist allowed him to make a selection of his latest creations before taking them out to the public. He could also get work from before 1940, which were inaccessible to other buyers. In total, the collection features 47 of his oils and drawings, among them some real masterpieces.

Diego Rivera’s presence in the collection is peculiar, for although Carrillo Gil considered him to be the same level of Orozco and Siqueiros, —the number of works purchased and their richness make the admiration toward them clear—, he was only interested in the works of his cubist period (1925-1926) as well as drawings of this early stage, a period which Rivera subsequently rejected.

Gunther Gerzso's collection focuses on his abstract stage and is one of the largest ones (15 works). It consists of two series, one of which was made after a trip to Mesoamerican archaeological sites, Yucatan Series, and another one called Greek Series, result of a trip to that country.

Through a joint effort between the curators and Estudio Abierto (the educational services department), Collection Notes gives the possibility of approaching national transcendental works of art in a dynamic and participatory way.

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