Founded in Madrid in 1976 by the collector and art dealer Ana Zaballos, Galería ISHTAR quickly became one of the most dynamic platforms for figurative art in Spain during the years of the democratic Transition. Conceived from the outset not merely as an exhibition space but as an active artistic agency, the gallery combined connoisseurship, curatorial vision and international ambition, promoting its artists in Spain and abroad.

The name chosen for the gallery reflected the intellectual sensibility of its founder. Ishtar, the great goddess of the ancient Near East, symbolised for Ana Zaballos the creative and spiritual dimension of art. The reference to the ancient Mediterranean world also echoed Zaballos’s broad cultural interests and her conviction that artistic creation forms part of a long historical continuum.

From its earliest years, ISHTAR maintained a strong commitment to contemporary figurative painting, while remaining open to different artistic languages and disciplines. The gallery organised exhibitions of painting, sculpture, graphic art and mixed media both in its Madrid premises and in cultural venues across Spain and internationally.

Among the artists represented or exhibited by ISHTAR were figures such as Juan de Ávalos, Enrique Pérez Comendador, Juan Barjola, Eduardo Naranjo, Jaime de Jaraíz, Pablo Burchard, Ángel Muriel, Santiago Morato, Juan José Narbón and Consuelo Hernández, among many others. The gallery also maintained a close relationship with Wolf Vostell, one of the most influential artists of post-war European art, whose presence and friendship opened new artistic perspectives within the cultural environment surrounding the gallery.

Particularly significant was the professional relationship with the Chilean painter Pablo Burchard Aguayo, whose work found in ISHTAR a decisive platform for its European projection. Ana Zaballos acted as his agent in Spain and contributed actively to the dissemination of his work among collectors and institutions.

During those years, ISHTAR also played an important role in the promotion of artists connected to Extremadura, functioning in many ways as a cultural meeting point in Madrid for artists, critics, collectors and the media. Its activity was frequently covered by the cultural press of the time, including publications such as ABC, Ya, Pueblo and the journal Alcántara.

From the late 1970s onwards, Ana Zaballos extended her activity to institutional venues, managing exhibition spaces in several Spanish Paradores in Extremadura, including Cáceres, Trujillo, Mérida, Guadalupe and Zafra. Through these initiatives she contributed to bringing contemporary art into historic architectural settings and expanding the visibility of many artists beyond the traditional gallery circuit.

Through her work as a dealer and agent, artworks promoted by ISHTAR entered major museums, royal collections and institutional holdings around the world. These include institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow and the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya in Barcelona, as well as royal collections including Patrimonio Nacional in Spain, the Royal Palace of Brussels and the Royal Collections of Amalienborg in Copenhagen.

Works associated with the gallery also entered collections such as the Museo Nacional de Arte (MUNAL) in Mexico City, the Utsukushi-ga-Hara Open Air Museum in Tokyo, the Museu Nacional de Arte Contemporâneo do Chiado in Lisbon, the Museo de Bellas Artes in Santiago de Chile, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Museo de Bellas Artes de Badajoz, the Museo de Cáceres and the Museo Extremeño e Iberoamericano de Arte Contemporáneo (MEIAC). Other acquisitions were made by institutions including Harvard University, UNESCO in Paris and the White House in Washington, among many others.

A defining feature of Ana Zaballos’s career was her generosity and her commitment to cultural institutions. Over the years she facilitated donations and acquisitions at symbolic prices for museums, universities, foundations and public institutions, contributing significantly to the enrichment of public collections.

In the early 1990s her nephew Francisco Acedo Fernández began working closely with her at the Gallery settled in Calle García de Paredes, learning the art world directly at her side and participating in the organisation of exhibitions and the management of artists and collections. This collaboration established a natural generational continuity for the project.

Following the passing of Ana Zaballos in 2014, Francisco Acedo Fernández inherited the firm and the holdings of the ISHTAR Collection, continuing its activity as a private art dealer and agent. Today, fifty years after its foundation, ISHTAR operates internationally, specialising in Old Masters and major modern and contemporary artists, with a particular focus on discreet off-market transactions for collectors and institutions.

The history of ISHTAR is ultimately the story of five decades devoted to art—a legacy built on knowledge, trust and an international network of relationships first established by Ana Zaballos and continued today by Francisco Acedo Fernández.