Painting the Divine explores New World images of the Virgin Mary that portray some of the events in her life, as well as examples of apparitions unique to various locales in the Americas. Iconography seen in these artworks tells a story that mixes religion, culture, and geography in ways unique to their regions. In addition, it examines pieces produced by New Mexican artists who developed a unique hybrid style with Spanish colonists, though they were separated by large geographic distances. It also explores the ways that contemporary Hispanic artists have adapted and infused Marian imagery with their own historical perspectives, stylistic traditions, and cultural values.

Josef Diaz is the curator of the Southwest and Mexican Colonial Art and History Collections at the New Mexico History Museum. He is the editor of the exhibition catalogue The Threads of Memory: Spain and the United States/El Hilo de la Memoria: España y los Estados Unidos and the author and editor of The Art and Legacy of Bernardo Miera y Pacheco: New Spain’s Explorer, Cartographer, and Artist.

Suzanne Stratton-Pruitt is an independent art historian. She is the author and editor of the catalogue for the exhibition The Virgin, Saints, and Angels: South American Paintings 1600–1825 from the Thoma Collection, and she is the editor of The Art of Painting in Colonial Quito/El arte de la pintura en Quito colonial.