Dra.  Nuria Pla Monseny  (1916-2011)

Nuria Pla Monseny was the only child and heiress of Ramon Pla and Asuncion Monseny, and founded post-mortem the private Foundation “Ramon Pla Armengol” (non-profit organization) in honor of her father. She finished the studies of medicine in 1940 at the University of Barcelona being one of the first women who graduated from this faculty in Catalonia. She was a multifaceted and modern personality for its time, and with entrepreneurial sense took over in 1940 the pharmaceutical company founded by her father and Joaquin Ravetllat, and continued the business activities until 1980.

At the same time, her passion for the arts and culture perhaps inherited from her mother, led her to initiate what would come to be a large collection of Spanish furniture, sculptures, fabrics, mirrors and silver objects of the 16th to 18th centuries. Within the furniture she chose in a preferential manner the “bargueños” (cabinets), tables, and “alacenas” (cupboards) considering them as the most representatives of the Spanish culture, and achieving thereby a unique collection at the international level. Her great admiration for the scientific work of his father, her passion for the Spanish decorative arts, and her deep religious sense was what led her to determine the purposes of this foundation.