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September 15 to October 15 is Hispanic Heritage Month in the U.S. While the name might currently be the focus of some debate, we welcome the reminder to explore and celebrate the vibrant cultures of Mexico, Central and South America, and the Hispanic Caribbean. The Artstor Digital Library offers many collections that specialize in or are substantially devoted to Latin American topics; here is a selection to get you started.

Art

Tabernacle. Mexico, second half of the 18th century. Image and original data provided Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros.

Not surprisingly, Artstor is strong in collections concentrating on the arts of Latin America, such as Jacqueline Barnitz: Modern Latin American Art (University of Texas at Austin), which features modern art from Mexico and ten other Caribbean, Central, and South American countries; and Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, including colonial, modern, and contemporary Latin American art.

By now you know that Artstor’s Public Collections provide approximately 1.3 million freely accessible images and other materials from library special collections, faculty research, and institutional history materials. The collections are constantly growing, and as we browsed for Latin American content in preparation for Hispanic Heritage Month, we were delighted by what we found. Here are some notable highlights:

Clary. Conferencia Latinoamericana Sobre la Integracion de la Mujer en el Desarollo Economico y Social. 1977. Image and data from Wofford College: The Lindsay Webster Collection of Cuban Posters.

Wofford College: The Lindsay Webster Collection of Cuban Posters
The collection features approximately 350 works created in Cuba from the revolution through the 2000s. Many of the posters focus on Cuba’s efforts to spread messages of the revolution worldwide and to inspire others in the fight against oppression stemming from the legacies of imperialism and colonialism, as well as posters focused on promoting Cuban national pride, conservation, production, and culture.

Dartmouth: Ediciones Vigia Collection
In 1985, a Cuban poet Alfredo Zaldivar and an artist Rolando Estevez established a literary forum for a group of Cuban artists in Matanzas, Cuba and called it Ediciones Vigía. For over twenty years now the goal for these artists has been to create beautiful handmade books. Through all of the social and political shifts, and even a severe paper shortage, the artists have found ways to create works of enormous artistry, imagination, and creativity by using found and recycled materials.

Luis González Palma. El árbol, 1993. Image and data from Lehigh University Art Galleries Permanent Collection.

When tasked with explaining my cultural heritage I feel a mixture of excitement and trepidation; the term “Hispanic” captures such a wide spectrum of people and cultures. Plus, in a year of high racial tensions and unrest I worry that I am not being sensitive or inclusive to all my brown and black brothers and sisters.

Louise Abbema. The breakfast. 1877. Oil on canvas. Image and data provided by SCALA, Florence/ART RESOURCE, N.Y.

Collection:
Scala Archives

Christine Løvmand. Flower piece. 1841. Oil on canvas. Image and data from Statens Museum for Kunst. CC0.

Artstor has published nearly 29,000 images from the Statens Museum for Kunst with the Creative Commons public domain dedication CC0, freely available to all. Open Artstor: Statens Museum for Kunst (National Gallery of Denmark) is part of an initiative to aggregate open museum, library, and archive collections across disciplines on the Artstor platform.

Tiffany Studios. Landscape window. 1910-1920. Leaded glass. Image and data from New-York Historical Society Museum & Library.

Collection:
New-York Historical Society: Museum & Library

Content:
The New-York Historical Society has contributed new content to the Artstor Digital Library, more than 3,000 images bringing their total close to 23,000. Founded in 1804, the city’s oldest museum presents its history through varied works — American paintings, sculpture, prints and drawings, decorative arts and artifacts, and historical photographs. The current launch is highlighted by a comprehensive collection of luminous Tiffany glass and some cunning earthenware figurines that belonged to sculptor Elie Nadelman, who was among our earliest collectors of folk art.

Clara Driscoll. Tiffany Studios. Wisteria table lamp. Design, c. 1901. Leaded glass, bronze. Image and data from New-York Historical Society Museum & Library.

Frederick Wilson. Tiffany Studios. Good Shepherd with Landscape. 1909. Leaded glass, bronze. Image and data from New-York Historical Society Museum & Library.

Unidentified maker. Figurine of a squirrel. 1840-1880. Lead-glazed red earthenware. Image and data from New-York Historical Society Museum & Library.

Unidentified maker. Figurine of a monkey 1860-1890. Lead-glazed earthenware. Image and data from New-York Historical Society Museum & Library.

Unidentified maker. Figurine. 1840-1880. Lead-glazed red earthenware. Image and data from New-York Historical Society Museum & Library.

Relevance:
American culture & history, art & architecture, and urban studies.

*Totals may vary depending on domestic or international release.

Over the years, educators, librarians, and researchers at all levels, from secondary schools to graduate programs, have shared with us how they use Artstor in their teaching and research. We’ve gathered some of our favorites here, touching on topics as varied as medicine, ethnic studies, women’s studies, and more.

Would you like to share how you use Artstor? Leave a comment and we’ll follow up!

Unknown photographer. Howard University students picket the National Crime Conference, December 1934. Eyes of the Nation: A Visual History of the United States (Library of Congress)

Washington’s secret city: cultural capital
Amber N. Wiley, Ph.D., Visiting Assistant Professor of Architecture, Tulane University

Race, identity, and experience in American art
Dr. Jennifer Zarro, Tyler School of Art, Temple University

Peter Doig. 100 Years Ago, 2001. 2001. Image and data from California College of the Arts. © 2020 Peter Doig / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / DACS, London.

The California College of the Arts (CCA) has contributed nearly 8,500 images of international and American contemporary art to the Artstor Digital Library. This contribution provides deeper coverage of postmodern global art in Artstor, an area in high demand in our community.

The Artstor Digital Library is used by educators in 1,900 institutions around the world–and with good reason. Here are just ten ways you can enhance your teaching with Artstor:

1. Take advantage of a wealth of images and primary sources to enhance most subjects.

2. Use with confidence: all images are rights cleared for education and research (and beyond in some cases!).

3. Make and share image groups for assignments and home study.

There have been as many plagues as wars in history; yet always plagues and wars take people equally by surprise.
— Albert Camus, The Plague, 1948

Dance of Death: Death the Strangler. Alfred Rethel (German, 1816-1859). 1850. Woodcut. Credit: The Cleveland Museum of Art; http://www.clevelandart.org/ CC0

Episode of Yellow Fever in Valencia (Épisode de la fièvre jaune à Valence). José Aparicio. 1804. Credit: Réunion des Musées Nationaux / Art Resource, N.Y. http://www.artres.com/c/htm/Home.aspx

A procession of flagellants carrying a canopy and a statue of the Virgin Mary through a town. Pieter Tanjé. Etching, with engraving. Credit: Wellcome Collection; https://wellcomecollection.org/ CC BY 4.0.

Explore the full Pandemics and Epidemics image group in Artstor

The rapid rise of the COVID-19 pandemic¹ is a stark reminder that humanity is still susceptible to infectious diseases. Despite the successes of modern medicine, communicable diseases continue to impact our health, our economies, and our communities.