Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture

Agriculture Rural development

AgroArt, the IICA Virtual Art Museum, exhibits the “Molina Campos Collection” from Las Lilas Museum in Argentina

Tiempo de lectura: 3 mins.

“Costumbrismo Argentino: The Molina Campos Collection from Las Lilas de Areco Museum” is comprised of 32 works by master Florencio Molina Campos, one of the great portrait painters of rural Argentina in the early 20th century.

Obra Calentando l'horno en técnica témpera, de la muestra "Costumbrismo Argentino: Colección Molina Campos del Museo Las Lilas de Areco", del reconocido dibujante y pintor argentino Florencio Molina Campos.

San Jose, 26 August 2021 (IICA). Las Lilas Museum in San Antonio de Areco, a picturesque town with a gaucho-esque aura located 113 kilometers from the city of Buenos Aires, enshrines one of the best artistic expressions originating in the immense plains of the Pampas.

As part of the town’s heritage, the Museum, which is owned by Las Lilas Foundation, exhibits the valuable collection of original works by renowned Argentine painter and illustrator Florencio Molina Campos, celebrated for his costumbrista portraits of the Pampas and his country.

Starting this week, the collection can also be viewed at AgroArt – Virtual Art Museum of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), which inaugurated the exhibition dubbed “Costumbrismo Argentino: The Molina Campos Collection from Las Lilas de Areco Museum”, comprising 32 works by the artist who passed away in 1959.

Molina Campos’ costumbrista paintings reflect rural Argentina in the early 20th century and depict homes from various social strata in works that speak to the traditions of rural life.
 
The enchanting countrymen and women are portrayed in different scenes from the Pampas—often performing work, other times at play—as testimony to a past that endures in the heart of the Americas.

Originally published on Argentine almanacs manufactured by the textile company Alpargatas between 1931 and 1944, the artworks exhibited by AgroArt in digital format filled the walls of ranches, markets and homes across Argentina.

“I would say to writers, to musicians, to artists: go to the Pampas, to the highlands, to the mountains and record our immense, dispersed wealth, as we still have time to save our native folklore. How sad it will be for future generations to have to ask us to tell them stories! How sad it will be if we cannot tell them what happened to the gaucho and what we have done to keep the National Tradition alive!”, said the artist in a decalogue left as a legacy to future generations.
 
His art can now be seen from any place in the world through AgroArt.

Other works that can be viewed on IICA’s Virtual Museum include “Footprints from Chiapas: From Tuxtla Gutiérrez to San Juan Chamula”, “Identity and Roots”, “Rural Chronicles” and “The Colors of Earth”.

AgroArt is a space for the dissemination and integration of the artistic expressions of the Americas emanating from the rich diversity of the Hemisphere’s rural areas.

To visit AgroArt, the Virtual Art Museum of IICA, click here: https://agroart.iica.int/

More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int

Share

Related news​

Buenos Aires, Argentina

August 8, 2025

At the AAPRESID Congress, participants affirm their conviction that agriculture is destined to play a crucial role in energy security, creating an opportunity for Latin America

The discussion on the contribution of agriculture to energy security was organized in a strategic partnership with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), which, after its successful participation in the Congress in 2024, is once again playing a prominent role, with a special panel of experts session, a photo exhibition, and a side event focused on AgTechs.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

Buenos Aires, Argentina

August 8, 2025

New narrative for agriculture must be jointly developed and address consumers’ needs, agree participants at AAPRESID Conference, with noteworthy participation by IICA

The three-day conference will spotlight key issues related to the future of agriculture, which must drive innovation in science and production. For the second consecutive year, IICA is participating actively in the conference, one of the year’s most important events for the agriculture sector in Latin America.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins

Buenos Aires, Argentina

August 7, 2025

IICA will serve as a bridge for intensified trade and agricultural cooperation between Argentina and Central America and the Caribbean, as the former pledges to spearhead actions in Panama, Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

At a meeting with senior officials of the Argentinian government, ministers of Panama, Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines explored new agribusiness and cooperation opportunities in the application of genetics in beef production, dairy farming and beekeeping, among other areas, with a view to expanding trade between Argentina and the Caribbean and Central America.

Tiempo de lectura: 3mins