Painted Chest c. 1936

E. Boyd’s ‘Painted Chest’ is a decorative image in watercolor and graphite on paper. It is in the style of traditional Hispanic art, but with a modern twist. The image depicts a man on horseback, flanked by two women. It is framed by decorative borders with flowers and leaves. The forms are simplified, with the colors bold and flat. Boyd uses watercolor in a deliberately naive way, to capture the essence of traditional Hispanic folk art. The artist was a curator at the Spanish Colonial Arts Society in Santa Fe. She made a concerted effort to research and revive traditional arts of the Southwest, so the painting is not simply decorative. It documents and celebrates a particular cultural heritage, even as it interprets that heritage for a contemporary audience. Boyd’s ‘Painted Chest’ bridges the gap between fine art and craft, between documentation and creative expression. It invites us to appreciate the rich history of Hispanic art in the Southwest, and to reconsider the value of handmade traditions in an increasingly industrialized world.