Delfina Entrecanales

María Delfina Entrecanales de Azcárate CBE (10 April 1927 – 1 April 2022) was a Spanish-British arts patron and philanthropist, established in England since 1946.

She was the founder and Chairwoman Emeritus of the Delfina Foundation, an independent not-for-profit organisation devoted to supporting artists through a residency programme and exhibition space in London. She retired from the board of trustees in 2020.

Early life Entrecanales was born on 10 April 1927, into an affluent family, in southern Spain, the first child of industrialist and María de Azcárate. Her father, an engineer, was the founder of the company known today as Acciona and her mother came from a progressive family linked to the Institución Libre de Enseñanza.

When her marriage ended, after 20 years, she decided to stay in England, instead of returning to Spain, and became a socialite and a patron. The resultant album was Rock Bottom, released in 1974, which included musical performances by Ivor Cutler, Hugh Hopper, Richard Sinclair, Laurie Allan, Mike Oldfield and Fred Frith, and was produced by Pink Floyd's Nick Mason.

Even though her intention was to keep supporting musicians, following the advice of a friend who taught at the Royal College of Art, she decided to shift her patronage activity to the visual arts after realizing that the equipment musicians would need was far too expensive. In the meantime, she married her second husband, Digby Squires, who was 25 years younger than her. A long list of artists were supported by the Delfina Studio Trust, including Glenn Brown, Jane & Louise Wilson, Keith Tyson, Maud Cotter, Mark Francis, Mark Wallinger, Tacita Dean, Thomas Demand and Tomoko Takahashi, among many others. Some of those artists later became winners or finalists of some of the most prestigious awards in the sector, including the Turner Prize.

After the end of her second marriage, Entrecanales withdrew from her activity as a patron for some time but then in 2005, during a trip to Syria with her close friend and international human rights lawyer Mark Muller, she decided to resume her work supporting artists. the work of the foundation is no longer limited to any specific geographical focus.

Entrecanales then bought the house next door and combined the two properties into one unified structure, designed by London's Studio Octopi and Cairo-based architect Shahira Fahmy, which has space to host eight artists and also includes a library, communal kitchen, offices and an exhibition space.

Unlike most patrons, Entrecanales was not an art collector and instead defined herself as a "collector of artists", having supported more than 600 artists worldwide with her philanthropic work: "The one thing I want you to make clear is that I am not a collector. I collect artists, not art!". the year of the Diamond Jubilee, and she was also the recipient of The Prince of Wales Medal for Philanthropy in the Arts in 2013. In 2016, a Spanish association of female entrepreneurs (Asociación Mujer Siglo XXI, based in Bilbao) also gave her an award for her patronage work.

Death Entrecanales' death, at the age of 94, was confirmed on 1 April 2022. No cause of death was given.