A Lady from Lima on Display for the First Time

In 2011, Wellesley College acquired a marvelous portrait of a young woman, painted in Lima, Peru, in the late 18th century and not previously exhibited.

Subsequently conserved and reframed, the work raises fascinating questions for scholars and students: Who was the artist? Who was the patron? What can this work tell us about art and society in colonial Lima, one of the richest cities in the Spanish Empire?

The College is proud to invite the public to celebrate the work's first exhibition with an afternoon symposium on April 26, where a diverse team of experts help celebrate the occasion. A series of short papers will be presented, including:

• James Oles, senior lecturer in the Art Department and adjunct curator of Latin American art at the Davis: "Her Context in Colonial Lima"
• Pamela A. Parmal of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: "Her Dress and Jewelry"
• Julie Knight of Hirsch and Associates: "Her Guilded Frame"
• Elizabeth Leto Fulton, conservator: "Her Condition"

"This extraordinary and rare portrait is a stunning addition to the Davis permanent collections, with appeal far beyond its immediate context of Latin American colonial art," said Oles. "The work is not widely known now, but given its rarity, will certainly become an iconic example of Latin American colonial portraiture as it is included in future publications and exhibitions.”

Please join us Friday, April 26 at 2:30 p.m. in the Dorothy Johnston Towne Gallery in the Davis Museum. Be among the first to meet A Lady from Lima.