Gilberto Cárdenas, sociologist and Latinx art collector, dies at 79

Gilberto Cárdenas, described by ARTnews as a top collector of Latinx art, died on 26 July 2026 in Austin, Texas, at 79. He founded the Institute for Latino Studies at the University of Notre Dame in 1999 and directed it until 2012. The Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas at Austin acquired his collection of Latinx prints, paintings and mixed media. MALDEF mourned him as a former board member and civil rights advocate.