NEW YORK CITY (December 9, 2021) – The Hispanic Society Museum & Library (HSM&L) – the primary institution dedicated to the preservation, study, understanding, exhibition and enjoyment of art and cultures of Portuguese and Spanish speaking countries and communities – is pleased to announce the appointment of four Curatorial and Conservation Research Fellows, supported, in part, by the Culpeper Program of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, with additional support from Queen Sofía Spanish Institute and Hubert and Mireille Goldschmidt. The Fellows will serve in a part-time capacity at the museum during the 2021-2022 academic year.

The Fellows, Dr. Orlando Hernández Ying, Alexandra Frantischek Rodríguez-Jack, Anna Andreeva and Amanda R. Dorval, will be working closety with curators and conservators in the following four areas respectively:

Works on Paper (Drawings and Watercolors), with an Emphasis on Latin American Art – Additional support provided by Hubert and Mireille Goldschmidt

This postdoctoral fellowship will be held by Dr. Orlando Hernández Ying. Dr. Hernández is a native of Panama with an M.A. in Museum Studies from New York University in New York City, and a doctorate in Art History from the Graduate Center of the City University in New York.  A specialist in the art and architecture of colonial (viceregal) and nineteenth-century Latin America, Dr. Hernández served as a professor and curator in both the United States and Panama, where he was National Coordinator of Museums for the National Institute of Culture in Panama.

Dr. Hernández will continue his research on Peruvian nineteenth-century costumbrist watercolors and their dispersion throughout the world, helping to organize a study of the materials and techniques of these works as part of an international humanities-led scientific research project (USA portion sponsored by the NEH). In addition, he will participate in creating an exhibition showcasing North American artists active in Spain and Latin America, slated to open June through September 2022. Dr. Hernández will also conduct research on the context of the HSM&L’s collection of watercolors by Baron Taylor and his associates for Taylor’s 1826 publication, Voyage pittoresque en Espagne, en Portugal et sur la côte d’Afrique, de Tanger à Tétouan. Lastly, he will intervene in the research and preparation of an exhibition featuring a recent gift of 20 drawings by the Mexican twentieth-century master, José Clemente Orozco by Michael and Salma Wornick in collaboration with with Museum Department Senior Curators.

Spanish and Hispanic Art in the Hispanic Society’s Museum & Library’s Collections (Decorative Arts and Iconography), with an Emphasis on Identity in Latin American Art – Additional support provided by Queen Sofia Spanish Institute

This fellowship will be held by Alexandra Frantischek Rodríguez-Jack, a Cuban-and-Chilean-American scholar completing a Master of Arts in the History of Design and Curatorial Studies in the program of the Parsons School of Design and the Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum, both in New York City. Ms. Rodríguez-Jack will conduct research on women’s estrados in Spain and Latin America from the late medieval period to the nineteenth century. The word, estrado, translates to a raised and carpeted wooden platform with low tables, small furniture and cushions to sit on, used by women. With obvious reference to the Islamic influence in Hispanic culture, the salas de estrado (women’s sitting rooms) became feminine enclaves within houses and were arenas for a feminine culture all their own. Ms. Rodríguez-Jack’s study will seek to clarify the ways this tradition passed from the Iberian Peninsula to the New World and how it affected art and design as an original, localized and unique practice by examining guilds in particular indigenous and malato craftspeople.

Ms. Rodríguez-Jack will also serve as a curatorial associate in the HSM&L Museum Department, involved in registration of objects, cataloguing and computer-related projects. She will collaborate with HSM&L Department curators Dr. Noemí Espinosa and Dr. Marcus Burke, and also with Dr. Margaret Connors McQuade, Curator of Decorative Arts and Deputy Director.

Conservation Treatments in Spanish and Latin American Works of Art and Design with an Emphasis on Textiles

This fellowship will be held by Anna Andreeva, a Russian-born émigré who is a textile conservator and scholar of Hispanic culture. With a Master of Arts in Fashion and Textile Studies (History, Theory, Museum Practice) from the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City, Ms. Andreeva is a master textile conservator with expertise in tapestries and large-scale textiles, and has been a part-time conservation assistant on the staff of the Textile Conservation Lab at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City.

Ms. Andreeva will work with Latin American textiles, mantones de Manila, or Chinese-style embroidered shawls marketed through the Philippines, and other luxury textiles, and in the further organization and development of textile storage systems, as well as basic registration and cataloguing.  She will collaborate with Maestra Hélène Fontoira Marzin, Head of the Conservation Department at the HSM&L, and curators Dr. Noemí Espinosa and Dr. Marcus Burke.

Spanish and Latin American Manuscripts, Rare Books and Documents with an Emphasis on Arabic language and Islamic related materials

This fellowship will be held by Amanda R. Dorval, a Puerto Rican and Dominican-American who is a specialist in the Spanish and Arabic languages. Staff Sargent Dorval (Air Force Reserve) is completing a master’s degree at Long Island University’s Palmer School of Library and Information Science in Brookville, New York, with a concentration in Rare Books and Special Collections. She is also completing the Advanced Certificate in Archives and Records Management.

Among her research topics at the HSM&L, Staff Sargent Dorval will be exploring the links between Arab or Islamic culture and art in Latin American manuscripts while investigating roles that highlight the Latinx experience, further developing her professional skills as a librarian. She will collaborate with Vanessa Pintado, Assistant Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts at the HSM&L.

The Hispanic Society Museum & Library is grateful to the Rockefeller Brother’s Fund for this seed grant, allowing for the HSM&L’s to further their commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion by providing professional development opportunities that expand the voices in the curatorial field.

If interested in learning more about the HSM&L and their Research Fellows Programs and Grants please visit Hispanic Society Museum & Library and follow the institution on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

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ABOUT THE HISPANIC SOCIETY MUSEUM & LIBRARY

The Hispanic Society Museum & Library (HSM&L) is the primary institution and reference library dedicated solely to the preservation, study, understanding, exhibition and enjoyment of art and cultures of Portuguese and Spanish speaking countries and communities. Located in Upper Manhattan in the dynamic Washington Heights neighborhood, the museum has, since its inception, remained free of charge, providing unrivaled access to the most extensive collection of Hispanic art and literature outside of Spain and Latin America.

The museum’s permanent collection is unparalleled in its scope and quality, with half a million items that address nearly every aspect of cultures in Spain, Portugal and Latin America from antiquity to present day. HSM&L is unmatched in its multi-disciplinarity and broad historical and geographical extension of its art collection and library, highlighting Hispanic art and cultures’ incredible breadth as seen through its diversified religious, cultural and geographical influences. The collection includes masterworks by El Greco, Velázquez, Rodríguez Juárez, Goya, Campeche, Arrieta, Sorolla, Orozco and Tàpies; sculptures by Pedro de Mena, Luisa Roldán and Caspicara and masterpieces in all areas of the decorative arts. The collections of the Department of Manuscripts and Rare Books are among the most extensive outside Spain and the Library is available as a preeminent center for research on the history, art, and cultures of the Hispanic world, open to the public by appointment only.

Founded in 1904 by American scholar, philanthropist and collector Archer M. Huntington, the HSM&L was established on the premise of a passion for and curiosity of Hispanic and Latin American art, cultures and history. While the HSM&L is one of the most historic cultural institutions in New York City, the museum has continued to adapt and serve the local community and growing Hispanic and Latino populations in the United States at large, opening its doors to inspire, enrich and educate the public.

Under the stewardship of CEO and Director Guillaume Kientz and in the spirit of inclusivity, HSM&L makes a fervent commitment to give voice to and provide space for Portuguese and Spanish speaking communities and cultures. Through special exhibitions, a permanent collection, loans, education, support of living artists, public programming and research, HSM&L continues to reimagine the potential for a museum and its ability to incite greater change.