Staniar Gallery Presents Delilah Montoya: Contemporary Casta Portraiture The solo exhibition will run from April 24 to May 25 in Staniar Gallery inside Washington and Lee University’s Lenfest Center for the Arts.

By Kelsey Goodwin
April 17, 2023

Washington and Lee’s Staniar Gallery is pleased to present “Contemporary Casta Portraiture,” a solo exhibition by artist Delilah Montoya. The show will be on view from April 24 through May 25. Montoya will give a public artist’s talk on Wednesday, April 26 at 5:30 p.m. in Wilson Hall’s Concert Hall, followed by a reception. The exhibition and reception events are free and open to the public.

This exhibition is based on the artist’s research on the racial categorizing expressed in 18th-century paintings made in the Spanish Americas known as “casta paintings.” The historical works visually reinforced stereotypes by representing different racial mixes from the children of Spaniards who coupled with people in the “New World.” Montoya’s contemporary photographic portraits of Houston and New Mexico colonial families are presented with DNA analysis of the sitters and a global map of their families’ migration. The ethnographic art project addresses themes of identity and the impact of race and class distinctions.

Montoya is a professor emerita from the University of Houston School of Art. Her work has been recognized with numerous awards and has been exhibited throughout the United States including New Mexico, Texas, New York and California as well as internationally in Puerto Rico, Russia, Japan, France and Mexico.

Staniar Gallery is located on the second floor of Wilson Hall, in Washington and Lee University’s Lenfest Center for the Arts. When the campus is open to the public, gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.  For more information, please call 540-458-8861.