Lopez Museum turns 40.

"We like to think of ourselves as an institution that will give you an overview of 600 years of Philippine arts and letters," Lopez Museum director Mariles Ebro-Matias said.

"Since the late '60s and the early '70s, the Lopez Museum library has been a byword among Filipiniana scholars and historians. If you need anything that you cannot find anywhere else, most likely you will find it here. If you cannot find it here, you find it either in the Library of Congress or some Spanish archives."

But with the celebration of its 40th anniversary, the Lopez Museum will be showcasing its more recent acquisitions-modern and contemporary art-to give the public a peek at its vision and direction for the new millennium.

The museum was founded on Feb. 13, 1960 by Don Eugenio Lopez, Sr. who built it not only to house his extensive collection of rare Filipiniana books, manuscripts, maps, archaeological artifacts and fine arts, but also to give the public access to these materials.

Don Eugenio's original …