Francisco Echaurren Huidobro (1824-1909), was a Chilean elite member, who was dedicated to trade, income and agriculture. He was a politician, a militant of the Conservative Party and held various public positions, among which are deputy, mayor and minister of war. But above all he was a great collector and philanthropist, one of the main art collectors of the last third of the 19th century. This article aims to give an account of Echaurren Huidobro as a cultural agent, who deployed his political and social power in the field of national culture, in a nation building process, especially after the War of the Pacific, as well as his philanthropic spirit when he donated a large part of his collection to the Chilean state.