A Miró treasure stays on the island: the 'Serie Mallorca' comes to the Museu de Mallorca

A Miró treasure stays on the island: the 'Serie Mallorca' comes to the Museu de Mallorca

It almost feels as if Palma, on this mild May evening (the display on the Passeig shows 23 °C), has taken a small sigh of relief: the island administration has acquired Joan Miró's 36-work "Serie Mallorca" for €400,000 and added it to the public collection. The portfolio of etchings and aquatints from 1973 thus moves from private ownership into the holdings of the Museu de Mallorca and is intended to remain permanently accessible. The acquisition echoes other recent museum purchases such as Carta náutica de 1447 regresa a la isla: compra en Sotheby's asegura tesoro cultural para el Museu de Mallorca.

Anyone who recently sat at a café table in the Mercat de l’Olivar may have seen the posters for the exhibition currently running at the museum: "Joan Miró i el despertar de l’art contemporani a Mallorca. Miró i Pelaires 1969–1983." Curated by Magdalena Aguiló Victory, the show presents the portfolio as its centerpiece and is open until 15 June. The broader Miró program on the island is discussed in Joan Miró takes Palma by storm: A summer of color, form and island magic. For residents of Mallorca and visitors alike this is a rare opportunity: complete examples of this series exist only around ten times worldwide.

The sheets themselves are not just a collection of prints but an experiment in sequence and variation. Miró worked with black lines, strong primary colors and shapes defined by negative space; each etching can be read as an independent work, while all 36 sheets together tell a sequence of artistic decisions. That this collection will remain in public ownership means research, conservation and educational work can be planned more effectively. The island's technical and art-historical departments examined the work and gave the green light for the purchase.

The value of such decisions is felt locally: school groups passing the museum on their way home will in future be able to see Miró's work directly instead of only reproductions in textbooks. Island artists, students from the art academy, retirees who spend Sundays on the plaça — all benefit because the portfolio is no longer hidden behind closed doors. The museum will not simply place it in storage; it is already part of the ongoing exhibition, an invitation to look closely. Previous Miró presentations have attracted large audiences, as noted in Miró en Palma: Más de 300.000 personas han visto la exposición en la isla.

The connection to the Pelaires gallery, which offered the series, is part of the work's history. In the late 1960s and 1970s collaboration between Miró and local galleries was a driver of the contemporary scene. The current presentation illuminates those years: printed graphics, posters, letters and archival material show how art on Mallorca was discussed and exhibited at the time.

What does the future hold? Walking along the Passeig in Palma and feeling the bay wind, one hopes the portfolio can do more than simply be exhibited. Accompanying workshop series for young people, a digital catalogue with high-resolution images for schools, loan programs for regional museums and joint projects with the art academy would be useful. Such offerings would keep the work alive rather than institutionally sealed.

For the island the acquisition has a double significance: it secures an artistic testimony closely associated with Mallorca's atmosphere and it strengthens the local cultural landscape as a place where originals are not only shown but also understood. In a city where mopeds rattle through narrow streets and old men play dominoes on the plaça, it feels good that a piece of modern art history stays here — accessible, tangible and ready to provoke new looks.

If you still want to visit: the exhibition runs until 15 June at the Museu de Mallorca. Afterwards, taking an early look at the museum's mediation plans for the portfolio would be wise; the potential for school programs and collaborations is great. On a sunny afternoon with a cup of coffee and a view of the cathedral, this can almost feel like a small cultural liberation — and one can hope the island will make the effort to turn it into something lasting.