New Exhibit at Santa Clara University's de Saisset Museum Shows Collaboration With Smithsonian Institution.

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 1, 1999--A collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and the de Saisset Museum brings four historic santos -- sacred images of Catholic saints, the Virgin Mary, and other religious and biblical subjects -- to Santa Clara University this spring.

The collection will be displayed concurrently with "Our Saints Among Us/Nuestros Santos Entre Nosotros: 400 Years of New Mexican Devotional Art," an exhibition featuring nearly 200 historic and contemporary New Mexican santos, May 8 through Aug. 8.

The National Museum of American History, a Smithsonian museum in Washington, D.C., is lending two statues, Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception and an Ecuadorean angel, for the de Saisset exhibit. The Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education has been studying de Saisset's two santos, statues of Jesus and the Virgin Mary, and has created large text panels for the museum which explain the findings of the research, with all costs paid by the Smithsonian.

To commemorate the 400th anniversary of the Spanish influence in New Mexico, when the Spanish settled in the southwestern and western United States and introduced Catholicism, the "Our Saints" exhibit includes a private collection of Hispanic New Mexican devotional art. "Bultos" (carved statues), "retablos" (paintings on wood), "reredos" (altar screens), and home altars will be exhibited. The de Saisset exhibit will be the first showing on the West Coast and the only California stop for the tour.

"The art is very simple. It speaks to people," says Barbe Awalt. "Our Saints" is composed of objects from the private collection of Awalt and husband Paul Rhetts, of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The Farrington Historical Foundation of San Jose has made a grant to SCU to help offset some of the costs of the Smithsonian collaboration for the exhibit.

This is one facet of the Smithsonian's involvement with SCU. The Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education is working with the chemistry and anthropology departments to develop a new course in archaeological chemistry, which will include guest lectures by Smithsonian scientists. The university has also sent mission site artifacts to Washington D.C. to be analyzed, and will be working with the Smithsonian to develop educational modules for grades four through 12.

Experts from the Smithsonian Institution, as well as Awalt and Rhetts, will attend a fundraising dinner for the de Saisset Museum on May 8. Tickets are $40 for non-members and $35 for de Saisset members. The dinner is open to the public. Call [phone] for further information and reservations.

The de Saisset Museum re-opens on Thursday, April 15. The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., except July 3 to July 5. Admission is free.

The museum is a member-supported, privately funded institution operated by SCU. It is located in the center of campus adjacent to the Santa Clara de Asis, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara.

Note to Editors:

Paul Rhetts and Barbe Awalt will be available for interviews on Thursday, April 8, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, call Anna Koster, Public Relations Officer/Collections Manager, at [phone].

There is a preview of the exhibit for the media and invites only on Friday, May 7. For more information, call de Saisset Museum at [phone].