January 23, 2025 – April 20, 2025

NEW YORK CITY (December 2024): The Hispanic Society Museum & Library (HSM&L) is pleased to announce its latest exhibition, The Colorful World of Pancho Fierro, Afro-Peruvian Painter, a captivating showcase of the vibrant watercolors of Francisco “Pancho” Fierro Palas (1807/9 – 1879) curated by Dr. Marcus Burke, Senior Curator Emeritus at the Hispanic Society. On view January 23, 2025 – April 20, 2025, this exhibition offers a rare opportunity to explore the life and artistry of one of Peru’s most fascinating visual chroniclers.

From the 1820s through the 1850s, Fierro masterfully documented daily life in Lima, capturing its racially, ethnically and economically diverse society with remarkable vitality. Tapadas (women who veiled all but one eye), equestrian soldiers, festive dancers, and men and women selling everything from paper flowers to peanuts are among the figures that animate Fierro’s colorful portrayals of nineteenth-century Peru.

Pancho Fierro, Tapada

The exhibition highlights Fierro’s ability to transcend the cultural stereotypes of the time to capture the subtle humanity of his subjects, qualities that made his works highly sought after during his lifetime. In the 19^th century, works by Fierro were exported as far away as Europe, Asia, and North America. As an Afro-Hispanic artist, Fierro’s career reflects the evolving economic opportunities available to individuals of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds in post-Independence Peru. His work not only serves as a testament to his exceptional talent but also offers insight into the vibrant cultural fabric and extraordinary upward social mobility of a newly independent nation.

The Colorful World of Pancho Fierro, Afro-Peruvian Painter draws from the Hispanic Society’s collection of over 500 works by Fierro and his school, the largest such collection anywhere in the world. The centerpiece of the exhibition is Fierro’s rarely exhibited 15 ½-foot-long scroll depicting Lima’s Holy Week procession—a proto-cinematic depiction of one of the city’s most celebrated cultural events. The exhibition will also present the results of a recent technical analysis of works by Fierro in the Hispanic Society collection. The study was conducted by scientists from Nottingham Trent University in the UK as part of an international initiative jointly sponsored by the British Arts and Humanities Research Council and the United States National Endowment for the Humanities.

Pancho Fierro, “Agony in the Garden” from Holy Week Procession on the Calle de San Agustín, Lima

A slate of public programming is planned in connection with the exhibition. On Friday, February 7^th, in conjunction with Master Drawings New York, exhibition curator Dr. Marcus Burke will give a public talk at the Hispanic Society focusing on Pancho Fierro’s life and work. A public symposium on Pancho Fierro will be held at the Hispanic Society on Wednesday, February 12^th, featuring a panel of internationally recognized scholars.

The Colorful World of Pancho Fierro, Afro-Peruvian Painter will be on view at the Hispanic Society Museum & Library through April 20, 2025.

A related publication, Tipos del Perú: La Lima criolla de Pancho Fierro ($45) will be available at the Hispanic Society gift shop.

This exhibition and the private exhibition opening are made possible by generous support from the Raúl C. Castells Valle Foundation and from the Consulate General of Peru in New York.

If interested in learning more about the HSM&L and its current exhibitions, 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

Founded in 1904 by the American scholar, philanthropist, and collector Archer M. Huntington, the Hispanic Society Museum & Library houses one of the world’s premier collections of art from Spain, Portugal, Latin America, and the Philippines. Located in a historic Beaux-Arts building on Audubon Terrace in the dynamic Washington Heights neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, the Hispanic Society is home to over half a million objects spanning thousands of years of art history across three continents. Unparalleled in scope and quality, the collection includes works by Baroque and early modern masters like El Greco, Diego Velázquez, Luisa Roldán, and Francisco de Goya; visionary 20th century artists like Joaquín Sorolla; and major figures from Viceregal Latin America such as Sebastián López de Arteaga and Juan Rodríguez Juárez, along with extensive collections of antiquities, ceramics, textiles, and decorative arts. The Hispanic Society’s library is one of the most important centers for research on Hispanic art and culture, containing an extraordinary array of rare books and manuscripts, including a map of the world dated to 1526 and a first edition of Don Quixote. The library is open to the public by appointment.

The Hispanic Society is committed to giving voice to Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking communities and cultures in New York, throughout the United States, and across the world. As an active member of the Washington Heights community, the Hispanic Society regularly hosts concerts, lectures, and tours, and invites contemporary artists and community members to dialogue with the collection. Through its ambitious special exhibitions, a world-class permanent collection, innovative educational programming, dedicated support of living artists, and advanced research initiatives, the Hispanic Society continues to reimagine the potential for a museum and its ability to lead meaningful change.

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