The Foundation

The Alberto Vollmer Foundation is the product of a long family tradition of assistance to scientific, cultural and educational activities in Venezuela. It was incorporated in 1987 so as to give institutional form to this hundred-year old tradition.

The salvaging and cataloging of the ample Vollmer family archives is considered among the foundation’s major contributions. Included in these archives are over 200 years of documents – manuscripts, sheet music, correspondence, accounting books – and a large collection of 19th century photographs.

In 1996, following the death of Alfredo Boulton (1908 – 1995), Venezuelan art critic, historian and photographer, The Alberto Vollmer Foundation acquired Boulton’s entire personal collection of papers and photographs (over 10000 negatives and more than 3000 prints) along with other interesting memorabilia. Included are over 65 years of correspondence with the most outstanding artists and intellectuals of Venezuela, and all the cumulus of documentation resulting from Boulton’s historic, archaeological and iconographic investigations. This considerable volume of material is housed in especially designed areas in the Hacienda La Vega, one of the oldest houses of the western hemisphere, situated in the heart of Caracas.

Exploring these collections gives one a glimpse beyond the barriers of time, into the history of Venezuela. In a country where most public and private archives have either disappeared or are difficult to access, the Alberto Vollmer Foundation web site offers an exceptional source of information, full of surprises and amusing details, far from any academic formality, thus allowing one to discover the vivid history of a nation, its art, its customs and its popular traditions.