Orlando Museum of Art Exhibition, From the Andes to the West Indies, Extended

The exhibition reflects the rich artistic heritage of a considerable swath of the Americas.

Orlando, November 18, 2022 – The Orlando Museum of Art (OMA) is excited to announce extended dates for the exhibition, From the Andes to the West Indies: Spanish Colonial Paintings from the Thoma Collection. The exhibition, which was originally scheduled to close on December 31, will now be on view through Sunday, January 8, 2023.

From the Andes to the West Indies: Spanish Colonial Paintings from the Thoma Art Foundation includes works of art from Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Cuba, and Puerto Rico dating from circa 1600 to the mid-nineteenth century.  This selection of 26 works 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 exhibition reflects the rich artistic heritage of a considerable swath of the Americas.  The themes of the majority of the works reflect the important role played by the Catholic Church during three centuries of Spanish rule. The portraits featured in the exhibition were commissioned to celebrate the social status of both peninsular Spaniards and Creoles, those born of Spanish families in the Americas.

The Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation has a primary commitment to support a greater knowledge about, and understanding of, the art of Spanish America.  While for some audience members the imagery will be familiar, for others the iconography of Spanish colonial art might be experienced for the first time with this exhibition.  The Thoma Collection includes paintings from all the Spanish regions of the Americas with the exception of New Spain (Mexico), whose art has long been represented in United States collections.  Visitors to the exhibition will see paintings by the well-known Puerto Rican artist José Campeche, by the Venezuelan Juan Pedro López, and works by South American painters whose names we do not know.

For museum hours, a full list of events, and information about this exhibit, visit https://omart.org.

Additional exhibition images and credit lines are available from Marketing and Communications Manager, Maureen Walsh. Email mwalsh@omart.org for more information.