Telloglio Art Foundation AUTH is an art institution and museum based in Thessaloniki. It was founded in 1972 by the couple Nestora and Aliki Telloglou, with the donation of the entire property and artworks of art they owned. Telloglio’s main goals are the public’s contact with the institution’s art and collections (with particular emphasis on students through educational programs) and the strengthening of the recording and study of Greece’s cultural heritage.
The institution is housed in a building on the north side of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki(AUTH), which was completed in 1997 and inaugurated in December 1999, after the long-term efforts of Aliki Telloglou (Nestor Telloglou died in 1972). It has a total area of 6500 square meters and is surrounded by a small grove of 24 acres. It also has a 230-seat conference center and various auxiliary spaces suitable for holding events. Part of the foundation is also the renovated Telloglou house on Aristotelous Street, which was opened to the public in 2016.
The core of the collection is the original donation of the Telloglou family, which are more than 5000 works of art from various cultures. It consists mainly of paintings, but also includes Hellenistic and Roman vases, Hellenistic period tables, pieces of Chinese and Arabic art (such as vases and plates) and Persian miniatures. An important part of the collection are artworks by important Greek and European artists from the 19th and 20th centuries, such as sculptures, oil paintings, drawings, engravings and watercolor paintings.
Over the years, the foundation’s collection was enriched by purchases, but also by donations from institutions, bodies, artists, etc. Among the major benefactors are the European Union, the Municipality of Thessaloniki, Tonis and Ioanna Spiteri, Dimitrios Tsamis, Petros Molyviatis, Apostolos K. Philippides and others.
Specifically, Telloglio has works by artists such as Nikolaos Gyzis, Nikolaos Lytras, Konstantinos Parthenis, Nikos Hatzikyriakos-Gikas, Fotis Kontoglou, Giorgos Bouzianis, Dimitris Mytaras, Angelos Giallinas, Nikos Eggonopoulos, Vasilios Hatzis, Ioanna Spiteri, Opy Zouni, etc.
In addition to reference books, the library has hard-to-find exhibition catalogues, rare editions of theoretical texts and a number of art periodicals. Its collection is not only retrospective, but is constantly enriched with contemporary art publications and corresponding catalogues. There are approximately 22,000 volumes in the collection. In the current phase, the library staff integrates the online electronic catalog of the AUTH in the collection. The library mainly serves researchers and students of AUTH, and access needs an application and approval by the Foundation’s board of directors.
Congratulation!