de Saisset Museum
photo: Copyright 2000 John Hazeltine
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA
408-554-4528
Our Saints Among Us/Nuestros Santos Entre Nosotros: 400 Years of New Mexican Devotional Art
To commemorate the 400th anniversary
of the Spanish influence in New Mexico, when the Spanish 
settled in the
southwestern and western United States and introduced Catholicism, "Our
Saints Among Us/Nuestros Santos Entre Nosotros: 400 Years of New Mexican
Devotional Art" runs through August 8, 1999.
"Our Saints" will display the work of contemporary,
award-winning santeros, artists who make santos (sacred images of
Catholic saints and other religious biblical subjects), as well as historical
"retablos" (paintings on wood) and "bultos" (carved
statues) from the 1700's and 1800's.
The exhibit will feature nearly 300 historical and contemporary pieces.
"The art is very simple. It speaks to people," says Barbe Awalt. "Our Saints" is composed of objects from the private collection of Awalt and husband Paul Rhetts, of los Ranchos de Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Images from top to
bottom (click on thumbnail images to enlarge them): Felix Lopéz,
Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (bulto) - detail, 1997; Alcario
Otero of New Mexico, Santo Nino de Atocha, 1993; James Córdova,
San José (retablo), 1995; Alcario Otero, Nuestra Señora
de los Dolores (bulto), 1994; Gloria Lopez Cordova, La Huida a Egipto
(bulto), 1995
Read more about the de Saisset Museum.in Resource Library Magazine
Search for more articles and essays on American art in Resource Library. See America's Distinguished Artists for biographical information on historic artists.
This page was originally published in 1999 in Resource Library Magazine. Please see Resource Library's Overview section for more information.
Copyright 2012 Traditional Fine Arts Organization, Inc., an Arizona nonprofit corporation. All rights reserved.