Index of Latinx and Hispanic American Artists

The Index of Latinx and Hispanic American Artists (ILHAA) is a research aid for identifying publications in Watsonline, the online catalog of the Metropolitan Museum of Art libraries, by and about artists of Latinx and Hispanic American heritages who have lived, worked, and/or studied in the United States. This Index is intended to be a guide for navigating our holdings, not an authoritative list of all artists from these heritage groups. 

Inclusion in the Index indicates that an artist's name appears in one or more Watsonline records. Artists are included based on self-identification, scholarship, or other public acknowledgement of their heritage. The identity terms assigned have also been attributed with priority given to an artist’s self-identification. Neither birthplace, nor nationality, nor immigration status are decisive factors for inclusion or exclusion.

Click the expand icon to view the index in full screen mode.

Given the scope of this index, we have chosen to limit the heritage/ancestry filter categories only to those that pertain to Latinx and Hispanic heritage. However, we recognize that identity is intersectional and that, in addition to those mentioned here, many artists listed claim additional heritages that are inherent to their being and their practice. To explore the intersectionality of these artists, we invite you to use the cross-referencing feature at the bottom of the index. This feature can limit your search to artists that appear on both this index and at least one of our other indexes.

This resource is made to evolve over time: artists will be added on a periodic basis as we acquire more titles, become aware of additional artists and publications already in the collection, and continue to enhance our catalog records. We encourage researchers to share with us via email the names of additional artists represented in Watsonline to be added to this resource, as well as suggestions for other additions, revisions or corrections to the published information.

Entries include hyperlinks to: Watsonline searches customized for variant name form and keyword phrase configurations; Wikipedia entries (as available), provided to facilitate discovery and introductions to artists' work; and artworks within the museum’s collection.

Artists may appear in other publications held by the Met beyond the ones shown through the Watsonline search links above: catalog records for group exhibition catalogs and general surveys rarely list all artists represented. Additionally, journal and periodical contents are not indexed within Watsonline and should be searched by publication title. As such, we recommend searching Watsonline directly for artists not listed. Researchers wishing to do more comprehensive research may also benefit from consulting other databases.  
 
By sharing this index, we hope that in addition to facilitating awareness, discoverability, and wider use of Watson’s collection, scholars, specialists, curators, collectors, gallery owners, and artists will easily identify and notify us of significant omissions and missing titles. Offers and donations of publications not held, and/or funds to acquire them, are welcomed and appreciated. To support this initiative directly, please contact Jared Ash (jared.ash@metmuseum.org).   
 

Guidance and assistance 

Reference help is available through Watson Library via email or online chat. Chat assistance is available Monday through Friday, 10am-4pm EST, by visiting Watsonline and selecting the Ask a Librarian pop-up on the right of the screen.  
 
For help via email, or other questions, comments, corrections, or concerns, please contact us at watson.library@metmuseum.org.  
 

Acknowledgements 

This index has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan, as part of an initiative to assess, expand, and promote access to the library’s collection of publications by and about Latinx and Hispanic American artists. This project builds upon earlier library initiatives to raise the visibility of artists from marginalized communities in the Met Libraries, including the creation of an Index of Black Artists of North America, and an Index of Asian American and Pacific Islander Artists.  
 
Project members for this index are Louisa Raitt, Mia Ciallella, Daisy Paul, and Jared Ash. Additional assistance has been provided by Amanda Raquel Dorval and Helice Koffler.

Image (from Research page): Rafael Ferrer, Merengue en Boca Chica, 1983.