Some of the oldest art in the American southwest depicts the culture and religion of Hispanos, Spanish settlers who moved hundreds of years ago into what is now New Mexico and Colorado.
At a gallery in Denver, the largest collection of these art pieces is on display and preserved for study in a library at Regis University.
“History hasn’t always been written or documented. But people do have memories, and then there are artifacts that still survive,” said Tony Ortega, an artist and professor at Regis University.
The artifacts in the collection are retablos — painted panels — and bultos — carved wood sculptures, depicting saints and other holy figures and objects from the Roman Catholic religion.
Aaron Brown, Denver7Father Thomas J. Steele, a Catholic priest who taught at Regis University, collected the art work from the mid-1960s until his death in 2010. The university library now maintains and continues to add to the collection, which now includes more than 1,000 pieces. The exhibit is open for anyone to visit for free during the Dayton Memorial Library’s hours of operation.