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Welcome to The George Ortiz Collection web site. For some 42 years I passionately and assiduously pursued works of art from Greece, as well as from some of its forerunners, Mesopotamia and Egypt, and its peripheral cultures spanning a period of time from the Neolithic to the Byzantine Empire; also sculptures from Africa, Pre-Columbian America and the Pacific. One day, as though I'd spent my life painting a huge fresco, it all came together, and I decided to share with the world. Visitors to the exhibitions of the Collection, whether young or old, and from all walks of life, seemed to perceive the essence of the different cultures represented and their interaction.
For those who have seen one of the exhibitions, and especially for those who have not had the opportunity, this web site offers the full corpus of the Collection, with 20 key works presented in a 3-D format for your understanding and enjoyment. Fully-searchable catalogue entries are available for each object, as well as glossaries. Additionally, there are news about exhibitions and information about the printed versions of The George Ortiz Collection catalogue, the standard reference on the Collection.
Unfortunately we cannot respond to all inquiries; but any comments you may have are deeply appreciated.
May I express the hope that you will enjoy this site.
George Ortiz Go to
In Pursuit of the Absolute
The 1970 UNESCO and 1995 Unidroit Conventions In 1970, Unesco issued a Convention concerning "the measures to be adopted to forbid and prevent the importation and the transfer of the illicit property of cultural goods." In 1984, Unesco gave rise to Unidroit, which issued the final draft of its Convention in June 1995. These Conventions aim to define the norms by which works of art that are considered to be cultural patrimony may move - or rather not move - from one nation to another. Clear and qualified definitions of "illicit" and "cultural patrimony," which are crucial to the interpretation and implementation of the Conventions, are left in abeyance. The lawyers and government officials who conceived of the Conventions did so, by most accounts, without taking into consideration the realities surrounding art and the experience of those involved in its preservation, circulation and study. As a humanist and collector, I passionately oppose the Conventions as drafted, believe
that their creators are misled by the Utopian idea that every
created object has its perfect or natural location and must remain in situ,
overlooking the fact that art is cross cultural and, in many aspects, timeless.
If disseminated widely, as in the past, art is a major contributor to progress,
to our intellectual development, and to mutual understanding among peoples.
Art must be preserved. All those involved must work together to forge
a Convention to stop art theft in the classical sense - the pilfering of
architectural complexes, the destruction of ancient sites, and the circulation
of forgeries.
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