Philam Life presents National Artist Vicente Manansala's paintings at the National Museum

Philam Life CEO Axel Bromley

The last time I made a visit to the National Museum was in high school and it was a school field trip. I had a vague memory of the museum, until I saw the movie "Night at the Museum". Now that I am older and wiser, I suddenly had an urge to visit our own National Museum,  to see what's iconic artifacts are inside and if its in mint condition, to ghost haunt, see the Spoliarium painting by the National Artist Juan Luna, and what the museum offers now that Im two and a half decade older. Until I got an invite from a PR friend.

Spoliarium 

Philam Life offers an exclusive tour of the Philam Life Gallery by National Museum Assistant Director Dr. Ana Labrador last June 16 together with Philam Life CEO Axel Bromley to the media guests. The building itself is newly renovated and painted, the hallways are clean, the exhibition room is well- lit and organized. We first passed by the "Spoliarium" painting by National Artist Juan Luna. Spoliarium is a Latin word for coliseum's morgue which refers to the basement of the Roman Colosseum where the fallen and dying gladiators are dumped and devoid of their worldly possessions.

 Philamlife brings the Vicente Manansala collection , another illustrious National Artist,  the late Vincent Manansala, had his work exhibited at the National Museum. Vicente Manansala was a cubist painter and illustrator of no small renown. He was commissioned by Philam Life to create murals for the Philam Life Head Office. Following his passing in 1981, he was posthumously proclaimed a National Artist in Painting on the same year.

The gallery houses Manansala's  art collection that depict Filipino life, rendered in the artist signature style of “transparent cubism”.

Philam Life donated Php 1 million to the Museum through the Philam Foundation. The sum will be
used for the further upkeep of the paintings at the Philam Life Gallery, and was received by Dr. Ana Labrador on behalf of the National Museum.

The Philam Foundation has also been cooperating with the National Museum in building classrooms in typhoon-affected areas under the “Philam Paaralan” program. They jointly built four new classrooms - two in Loon South Central Elementary School, in Loon, Bohol soon after the earthquake and two in Salug Elementary School in Guiuan, Eastern Samar, which was among the schools devastated by Typhoon Yolanda.

Philam Life’s new CEO takes pride in its Manansala collection. “As an art connoisseur myself, it is a privilege to be part of an institution that strongly supports the arts,” said Mr. Axel Bromley. He believes in the importance of developing education and promoting the advancement of Philippine arts and culture. “We hope that through this partnership with the National Museum, more Filipinos can appreciate our collection and have access to these precious artworks of National Artist Vicente Manansala.”

Visit The National Museum, the Manansala paintings are now available for public viewing. The best part is, admission is free.