In My Father's Room: Stories and Small Things Near and Dear to Luis Ma. Araneta

The legacy of Luis Ma. Araneta as a collector and connoisseur covered a wide range of interests, from Philippine colonial sculpture and paintings to Asian traditional arts and classical antiquities. His influence spanned the fields of architecture, theater, film, interior design, and decoration. As a patriot, collector, designer, and as an intellectual and social figure, his name evokes a rarefied grandeur and nostalgia for an opulent and gracious past.

This book presents a very intimate portrait, filtered through the eyes of family members in celebration of the birth centennial of Luis Ma. Araneta. With essays by his daughters Patricia and Elvira Ma. Araneta, the objects in this book once adorned his room at the family residence in Forbes Park. A number of them are of very great value and outstanding quality, and have never been seen in public before. The exhibition portrays a world view shaped by love for family, pious devotion to the Catholic faith, and staunch belief in the history and culture of the Filipino.

The display of small objects, full of loving memories and whimsical choices, breathe life and give dimension to the man, not the legend. It is not a recreation of a specific physical space, but a multi-dimensional tableaux of the contributions of Luis Ma. Araneta to the appreciation of Philippine material culture.

Published in 2016 by San Agustin Museum

159 pages