Casa del Arte

In January 1958, during the rectorship of David Stitchkin Branover, the university acquired an important collection of more than 500 Chilean paintings from the philanthropist Julio Vásquez Cortés.

Important gifts were received in 1984 from the family of Jorge Délano Frederick, a Chilean graphic artist and in 1994 from the Sociedad de Oleoducto Trasandino, a Chilean-Argentine conglomerate that celebrated its 75th anniversary with a donation of engravings by Oswaldo Guayasamín.

[7] The building is hexagonal in shape, with primary facades facing both the square and the remainder of the university, together with an entrance atrium from which a large window reveals the interior hall.

[2] The Casa del Arte has the most complete collection of Chilean paintings, composed of works from different eras, from the colonial period to the most representative artists of the 19th and 20th centuries.

The permanent exhibition on the upper floor includes works of Pedro Luna, Jorge Délano, Thomas Somerscales, Onofre Jarpa, Raymond Monvoisin, Celia Castro, and Agustín Abarca.

On the ground floor, the Sala Tole Peralta, named for the founder and first director of the Casa del Arte, assembles works of major Chilean painters in chronological order.

The Sala Generación del Trece, also on the ground floor, contains a permanent exhibit of paintings from that artistic movement,[10] including the well known Pintor bohemio by Ezequiel Plaza and Velorio de un Angelito by Arturo Gordon.

The Sala Marta Colvin, on the ground floor, is named for the Chilean sculptor and houses temporary exhibitions by artists invited by the Casa del Arte or the university.

In addition, the Sala Universitaria, a basement space in the Plaza de Armas in the centre of Concepción, houses primarily works by regional artists.