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Thursday 12pm - 5pm Friday 12pm - 5pm Saturday 12pm - 5pm Sunday 12pm - 5pm

http://www.hispanicsociety.org/

The Hispanic Society Museum & Library, 613 W 155th Street, New York, NY (2025)

02/14/2025

💘 Nothing says love like . . . The Song of Ecuador? The tender moment between a soldier and his cigarette-smoking hammock-mate captured in this watercolor by an artist in the circle of Pancho Fierro may not be quite as romantic as it looks. In the years following Peru’s independence, its northern border was disputed with what was then known as Gran Colombia, leading to several protracted military conflicts. The title of this painting, “Song of Ecuador,” suggests that, instead of sweet nothings, the soldier may be regaling his companion with a patriotic melody about his exploits on the battlefield. What better way to melt a woman’s heart?

🎶 Whatever your serenade is about, the Hispanic Society wishes you a very . And if you’re looking for a date idea, you can take your special someone to see this work in person at the Hispanic Society where “The Song of Ecuador” is on view as part of the exhibition “The Colorful World of Pancho Fierro, Afro-Peruvian Painter”. While we can’t vouch for war stories from northern Peru, knowledge of 19th century Hispanic art is always sure to impress 😃

02/12/2025

We are thrilled to announce pianist Antonio Galera as our 2025 artist in residence. A native of Valencia, Galera studied music in Valencia and Paris and has performed throughout Europe and across the world, including at Taipei’s Zhongshan Hall and London’s Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Galera is deeply devoted to the work of Spanish composers and has programmed an exciting slate of concerts titled “Transcripciones,” in which he will share his unique perspective on Hispanic culture with the Hispanic Society community.

Please join us on Thursday, February 27th at 6pm for the first concert in the series, “Cordes,” which will be held in the library of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Based on his upcoming solo album project, Galera will explore references to the guitar present in music written for the piano by various Spanish composers. The concert will be introduced by Hispanic Society board member Lori Cohen, and curator and collector Christopher Rothko, who will offer brief remarks contextualizing the pieces performed by Galera. Find more information and RSVP at the link in our bio, and stay tuned for more information about special guests and upcoming events in the series.

02/09/2025

SUPER BOWLS for LIX! 🏆

We’re putting a cultural spin on game day! 🏈 El Museo del Barrio and the Hispanic Society Museum & Library are teaming up to showcase some truly super bowls from our collections. Which one is your favorite? Vote in the comments! ⬇️

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Image 2: Unidentified Taíno artist, Kanari [Vessel], c. 1200 - 1500. Ceramic. Collection of El Museo del Barrio, New York. Gift of Vincent and Margaret Fay. Photograph by Peter Gabriel Studio. The Taíno peoples have lived in the Caribbean for thousands of years, inhabiting what are now Puerto Rico, Cuba, Hispaniola, and Jamaica, among others. While some Taíno ceramics depict whole human or animal figures, it is common to find fragmentary figural elements rendered in an abstracted manner. This vessel is an example of the latter, with what appears to be a stylized eye depicted on the side of the bowl. Today, Taíno people continue to use vessels like these and other objects with ancestral connections, a testament to the enduring importance of Taíno culture in Caribbean life.

Image 3: Lusterware Bowl, c. 1370, Manises (Valencia). Tin-glazed earthenware with cobalt and luster. Collection of the Hispanic Society Museum & Library, New York. Acquired by Archer M. Huntington for The Hispanic Society of America, 1908. The decoration on the interior of this bowl may represent a palace courtyard with a central octagonal fountain with water flowing into the arcades and palm trees radiating from the center. Lusterware was introduced to the Iberian Peninsula by Muslim potters, with Málaga emerging in the 13th century as a major center of production. In the 14th century, many Muslim potters from Andalucia migrated northward and settled in cities like Valencia, where this piece was likely made. Lusterware involves applying a compound of copper and silver oxides to tin-glazed maiolica vessels, creating the signature iridescent decorative patterns when the pieces are fired in a kiln.

01/31/2025

We are pleased to announce a concert in conjunction with the exhibition “A Room of her Own: The Estrados and the Hispanic World” on Monday, February 10th, 2025. Experience the lush sound of early instruments as the Hispanic Society welcomes Sonnambula, a historically-informed ensemble that brings to light little-known early music. They will perform “A Sound of her Own: Music in the time of the Estrados,” a program specially curated to complement the themes of the exhibition. The concert will be preceded by a brief discussion between Alexandra Frantischek Rodriguez-Jack, the curator of the exhibition, and Dr. Elizabeth Weinfield, the music director of Sonnambula. The concert is free but tickets are going fast so sign up at the link in our bio to secure your seat.

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This depiction of two women enjoying the sweet sounds of a stringed instrument can be found on the side of a sewing box from Mexico ca. 1800. Painted figural motifs reflect the neoclassical style popular during the late-18th and early 19th centuries. The front panel depicts fashionable women dressed in pink and blue Empire-waisted gowns socializing with dapper gentlemen in contemporary attire. This extraordinary object is on vie win the exhibition “A Room of her Own: The Estrados of the Hispanic World.”

01/28/2025

Today marks the 172nd birthday of Cuban poet and independence leader José Martí (January 28, 1853 – May 19, 1895). Born in Havana to Spanish immigrants, Martí was sent to Spain at age 17 and spent the rest of his life in exile due to his advocacy of Cuban independence, eventually settling in New York City in 1881. A talented poet, Martí also published essays and delivered speeches on a variety of subjects throughout his life. Martí traveled widely throughout the Americas, visiting Cuban exile communities and calling passionately for Cubans of all races, genders, classes, and ethnicities to unite in support of Cuban independence from Spain. In 1895, Martí returned to Cuba but was tragically killed in a battle against Spanish troops. Today, Martí is remembered throughout Latin America for his intellectual insight and his principled leadership.

This maquette in the Hispanic Society’s collection is a preparatory study by sculptor Anna Hyatt Huntington for an equestrian statue of Martí located in Central Park. Huntington, the wife of Hispanic Society founder Archer Huntington and creator of the statue of El Cid on Audubon Terrace among many other works, completed the sculpture of Martí in 1959. Huntington offered the sculpture to the Cuban government to be presented as a gift to the people of New York City. The statue was dedicated in 1965 and stands in a plaza at the north end of the Avenue of the Americas alongside sculptures of the other Latin American independence leaders Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín.

01/16/2025

Today we’re taking you behind the scenes for the installation of our upcoming exhibition “The Colorful World of Pancho Fierro, Afro-Peruvian Painter”. Pancho Fierro was one of the most important artists in nineteenth-century , specializing in with vivid depictions of the people and events of his native . This exhibition presents selections from the Hispanic Society’s collection of works by Fierro and his school, the largest such collection in the world. In addition to meeting the cookie vendors, masked dancers, and accomplished equestrians that stride, prance, and gallop through Fierro’s paintings, viewers will have a chance to see the artist’s rarely-exhibited 15-foot-long scroll depicting Lima’s Holy Week procession, one of the city’s most important cultural events. “The Colorful World of Pancho Fierro, Afro-Peruvian Painter” opens to the public on Thursday, January 23 and will be on view through April during normal museum hours, Thursday to Sunday, noon to 5pm.

01/12/2025

Today marks the 169th birthday of the American painter John Singer Sargent. Considered one of the greatest portraitists of the late 19th century, Sargent was born to American parents in Florence and spent much of his life abroad. In 1879, at the urging of his art teacher Carolus-Duran, Sargent visited to study the works of . Over the course of five weeks, Sargent spent time at the making copies after the Spanish master, including the Hispanic Society’s painting of “Dwarf with a Dog,” as well as renditions of “Las Meninas” and “Las Hilanderas,” among others. Velázquez had a profound influence on the young American painter, most notably in Sargent’s rich and confident brushwork. While in Spain, Sargent also became interested in Spanish , resulting in two masterpieces, the Hispanic Society’s “Spanish Dance” and “El Jaleo” at the .

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John Singer Sargent, “The Spanish Dance”, 1879-1882
John Singer Sargent, “Copy after the So-Called Don Antonio ‘El Ingles’ (Dwarf with a Dog), thought to be by Velazquez”, 1879-1880

01/01/2025

from the Hispanic Society! We’ve got an amazing lineup of exhibitions and programs in store for 2025, from vivid by Pancho Fierro and monumental installations by to concerts, gallery talks, and more. Stay tuned to learn about the ways you can experience the diversity and depth of Hispanic culture in 2025.

12/31/2024

We’re toasting the arrival of #2025 with this cup from the collection by Spanish sculptor Mariano Benlliure y Gil. Benlliure created the cup in 1918 as a thank you gift for Hispanic Society founder Archer Huntington, who had visited the sculptor during a trip to Spain. An inscription on the base of the cup reads “A Huntington 1-14-1918.” Mariano Benlliure became a member of the Hispanic Society in 1913, and the museum is home to a series of bronze portrait busts of figures from Spanish history, which were commissioned by Huntington.

12/28/2024

Holy mother of pearl! This side table is made from wood and inlaid with mother-of-pearl, a lustrous luxury material derived from the inside of mollusk shells. Opulent objects like these were common in the “salon de estrado,” the private women’s drawing room found throughout the early modern Hispanic world that is the subject of a current exhibition at the Hispanic Society. In addition to serving as a functional table, a piece like this would have broadcast the wealth and status of its owner to everyone who paid a visit to her estrado. You can see this object through March 9th at the Hispanic Society as part of the exhibition “A Room of Her Own: The Estrado and the Hispanic World.”

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Side table, Guatemala or Peru, 18th century.

Photos:

Thanks to for loaning this piece for the exhibition.

12/25/2024

Tonight marks the first night of and the Hispanic Society wishes a joyous Festival of Lights to all those who celebrate. One of the jewels of our collection is a Hebrew bible made in Spain in the second half of the 15th century. Through notes left in the manuscript, we know this bible was taken to Portugal, Italy, the Netherlands, and Germany by various owners. The manuscript holds the entire text of the Hebrew bible, preceded by ten decorative folios, and interspersed with eight full-page Renaissance-style illuminations which were executed in Portugal in the 1490s.

12/23/2024

On a day like today, there’s nothing better than a warm cup of . Chocolate has its origins in Central America, where the cultivation of cacao goes back nearly 3,000 years. Often prepared as an unsweetened beverage, served both spiritual and economic functions for the Toltec, Maya, and Nahuas. Following the arrival of the Spaniards, chocolate consumption spread to Europe, where it became a luxury item.

In Viceregal New Spain (present-day ), drinking chocolate was a popular pastime among elite women, who would take the beverage in an “estrado” – a type of private women’s drawing room. Chocolate was drunk from a small cup called a “jicara,” which was held in a special saucer known as a “mancerina,” like the one pictured above. In addition to being a social ritual of the “estrado,” drinking chocolate was sometimes associated with . An English Dominican Friar named Thomas Gage who traveled in Mexico between 1625 and 1637 detailed the use of chocolate as a means of both seduction and revenge.

You can see jicaras, mancerinas, and other materials related to the consumption of chocolate and yerba mate in our current exhibition “A Room of Her Own: The Estrado and the Hispanic World,” on view in the Main Court at the Hispanic Society through March 9th, 2025.

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Mancerina (Chocolate Cup Holder) in form of Dove, 1784–1825, Royal Ceramic Factory of Alcora, Castellón de la Plana, Alcora, Spain. Tin-glazed earthenware.

Photo:

12/22/2024

The Hispanic Society is excited to announce we have been selected to participate in the Digital Accelerator Program! Through this program, we will continue our important work digitizing the collection so that objects from our museum and library will be available to students, scholars, and the general public.

12/21/2024

In honor of today’s , we are sharing this from a series of the four seasons by the artist Alexandre de Riquer. Stay warm out there!

“Winter”, Alexandre de Riquer, 1899

12/17/2024

Today for we are sharing an embroidered portraying the Virgin Mary, a common subject of religious artwork. This needlework, completed on the reverse of a woven page of scrapped religious texts, is both painted and worked with threads. Underneath the portrait of the virgin is the embroidered text “Magnificat anima mea Dominum” meaning “My Soul magnifies the Lord,” which is the first line of a canticle known as the “Song of Mary.” The text of the canticle comes from the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke and is spoken by Mary when she visits Elizabeth.

12/14/2024

Got an in your life? Stop by the Hispanic Society gift shop and get 10% off scarves, books, and more! Open during regular museum hours, Thursday to Sunday, noon to 5pm.

12/13/2024

Nothing says Friday the 13th like Goya’s “Caprichos”. Published in 1799, the Caprichos are a set of 80 prints in and that use and to critique contemporary Spanish society, notably the role of the clergy and the habits of the nobility. Fearing reprisal from the Inquisition, Goya withdrew the prints from sale after only a few days, making the project a significant financial loss for the artist.

This is the most famous image from the series “The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters.” Issued as plate number 43, this was originally intended to the first image in the set, reflecting Goya’s original conception for the project as a series of or “sueños.”

12/12/2024

Today, December 12th, is the Feast Day of the Virgin of , one of the most important figures of Marian devotion in Latin America. The story of the Virgin of Guadalupe centers on a Nahua named Juan Diego who saw a series of four apparitions of the Virgin on a hilltop at Tepeyac, to the north of Mexico City, in 1531. The Virgin spoke to Juan Diego in Nahuatl, telling him to go to the archbishop and convey her desire to have a shrine built on that spot. The archbishop was unconvinced, and during the fourth apparition the Virgin promised to provide a sign, telling Juan Diego to gather flowers from the hillside and bring them to the archbishop in his cloak. When Juan Diego unfurled his cloak in the presence of the archbishop, the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe was miraculously imprinted on the garment. This became the cult image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, and today the basilica at Tepeyac houses Juan Diego’s cloak above the main altar.

Over the ensuing centuries, devotion to the Virgin of Guadalupe spread throughout and to the rest of Latin America. Numerous miracles were attributed to her, and as Creoles in Mexico began to establish a national identity, the Virgin of Guadalupe was a key unifying figure. In the 19th and 20th centuries, independence fighters and revolutionaries in Mexico looked to her for patronage. Today, images of the Virgin of Guadalupe are common across the Americas and are still an important component of national identity for Mexicans and Mexican Americans.

This image of the Virgin of Guadalupe in a delicate filigree frame likely dates from 18th century Mexico. This object may have been used as a pendant for a necklace or could have been placed in an “escaparate”, a type of display cabinet common in the “salon de estrado,” a room commonly found in early modern Spanish and Spanish American households that served as a gathering place for women. This piece is currently on display in the Hispanic Society’s exhibition “A Room of Her Own: The Estrado and the Hispanic World.”

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The Hispanic Society Museum & Library

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Thursday	12pm - 5pm
Friday	12pm - 5pm
Saturday	12pm - 5pm
Sunday	12pm - 5pm