From the Andes to the Caribbean

From the Andes to the Caribbean: Art of the Spanish Americas from the Thoma Collection presents paintings from Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Cuba, and Puerto Rico dating from circa 1600 to the mid-19th century. This selection of work includes oil paintings on canvas and small, delicately rendered works in oil on copper. The variety of styles underlines the great diversity among works of art broadly called “Spanish Colonial.” The themes of much of the works reflect the role played by the Catholic Church during three centuries of Spanish rule. The portraits featured in the exhibition were commissioned to reflect the social status of both peninsular Spaniards and Creoles, those born of Spanish families in the Americas.

The Frost Art Museum’s presentation of this exhibition includes a companion exhibition, Cicatrices, presenting contemporary artists whose work intervenes in colonial narratives and examines related symbolism.

The Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation is a grantmaking and art collecting organization based in Santa Fe and Chicago. The foundation’s mission recognizes the power of the arts to challenge and shift perceptions, spark creativity and connect people across cultures. The Thoma Foundation lends and exhibits artworks from its collection to support pivotal initiatives in the arts. In the Foundation’s Art of the Spanish Americas collection are more than 175 paintings from South America and the Caribbean.

Unidentified artist, La Paz, Bolivia, The Young Virgin Mary with Saints Joachim and Anne [detail], Oil and gold on embossed, chased and engraved copper, mid-19th century, 63 ¾ x 39 inches, Thoma Art Foundation, 2018.079