The exhibition that celebrated the centenary of Francisco Pereira Coutinho's birth (1922-2006)

Almada Negreiros, Vieira da Silva, Paula Rego, Mário Cesariny, Cruzeiro Seixas, Manuel Cargaleiro and Nadir Afonso were among the artists represented, alongside António Areal, Helena Almeida, Mário Botas and many others. Paintings and drawings were shown together with sculpture by Jorge Vieira. The selection spanned different generations and artistic approaches, recalling the relationships the founder had built over decades.

Works on display included “Gorgona” (1964) by Paula Rego and “Cristal” (1970) by Vieira da Silva. The exhibition also featured Cruzeiro Seixas’s “Um Mar, homenagem a Francisco Pereira Coutinho” (1970), its title offering a particularly personal reminder of the bond between the artist and the gallerist.

An antiques dealer and collector, Francisco Pereira Coutinho founded São Mamede in 1968. He introduced modern art to a clientele more familiar with the art of earlier periods and, from the following year, developed a regular exhibition programme that brought established artists together with younger artists at the start of their careers. Surrealism became a particular focus at the gallery, with Cruzeiro Seixas helping to select and invite artists. Cesariny, António Areal, Carlos Calvet, Eurico Gonçalves and Raúl Perez were among those who exhibited there.

São Mamede also became a meeting place. Writers, critics, artists and actors gathered at its exhibitions and book launches, in an atmosphere of conversation and debate that left its mark on Lisbon’s cultural life.

The accompanying catalogue brought together an essay by Adelaide Duarte, archival photographs and texts on the artists and their relationship with São Mamede. It provides a lasting record of this tribute and the decades of work that made it possible.

Seeing so many of these works together again offered an opportunity to reflect on Francisco Pereira Coutinho’s choices, the freedom with which he brought together artists of different generations, and his role in introducing their work to a wider audience. Through this exhibition, the gallery celebrated its founder, sharing with the public an important part of a history that began in 1968.



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