The King inaugurates exhibition on Bernardo de Gálvez

His Majesty the King inaugurated on 3 December the exhibition “Bernardo de Gálvez and the Spanish presence in Mexico and the United States”, now open in Madrid. The exhibition was organised by the Army and Casa de América – a public consortium which seeks to encourage a closer relationship between Spain and the American continent – and sponsored by Iberdrola.

King Felipe VI was accompanied by the Chief of the Army Staff, Army General Jaime Domínguez Buj; the director of the Military Culture & History Institute, General José Carlos de la Fuente; the director of Casa de América, Santiago Miralles; and the president of Iberdrola, Ignacio Galán.

Upon his arrival at Casa de América, the King was welcomed by a group of soldiers from the 1st Infantry Battalion “Immemorial of the King” dressed in uniforms from the period of Charles III of Spain. Next the curator of the exhibition, Lieutenant Colonel José Manuel Guerrero, guided him through the four rooms which host it: “Spain at the time of Gálvez: A world power in the Age of Enlightenment”; “The traces of Spain in Mexico and the United States”; “Bernardo de Gálvez: The journey of a patriot”; and “War and glory in America”.

The aim of this exhibition, which will be open to the public until 12 March, is to raise the profile of Bernardo de Gálvez, who was in charge of providing Spanish military support to the United States during its War of Independence from Great Britain. It brings together over a hundred pieces: portraits, documents, maps, weapons, uniform replicas, miniatures, etc. In addition, the Military Culture & History Institute commissioned for the occasion the painting Por España y por el Rey, by Augusto Ferrer-Dalmau.

The king with dignitaries at the event (Photo: Iván Jiménez/DECET)

There is an equestrian statue of Bernando de Gálvez in Washington DC, and since December last year a portrait of him hangs in the Capitol, seat of the US Congress. At the same time he was conferred honorary citizenship, an honour he shares with only seven other people. Coincidentally, 2016 will mark the third centenary of the birth of Charles III, the 270 anniversary of the birth of Bernardo de Gálvez and the 240 anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence.

The exhibition can be visited at Casa de América (Marqués del Duero, 2) Monday to Friday from 11:00 to 15:00 and from 16:30 to 19:30, and Saturday from 11:00 to 15:00. Closed on Sunday and public holidays. Admission is free.