Juan Riaño y Gayangos

Juan Riaño studied law in Granada and Madrid after an education in England. He entered diplomacy in 1886, served in London, and worked for the commission negotiating peace with the United States in 1898. While a secretary in Washington he met Alice Ward, whom he married. Other postings took him to Paris, Copenhagen, and Christiania. ¹

Riaño returned to Washington as minister in 1910 and continued as ambassador when the legation was elevated in December 1913. He retired in 1926. Alongside diplomacy, he maintained his parents’ collection of bronzes and ceramics: he deposited it in the Museo Arqueológico Nacional in 1903 and lent pieces for exhibitions. The museum purchased the collection from his heir in 1946. ^{1, 2}