Thoma Foundation Awards $160K for Spanish Colonial Art Research
The Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation has announced the eight winners of its grants and fellowships for the 2026 Art of the Spanish Americas, totaling over $160,000. These funds are intended to promote research and conservation of Spanish colonial and Viceregal art. Camila Mardones Bravo received a $65,000 postdoctoral fellowship to study 18th-century Catholic visual culture in Bolivia and Chile. Juan David Parra was awarded a $50,000 predoctoral fellowship for his work on colonial painting workshops in New Kingdom of Granada (Colombia). Conservation grants of up to $50,000 went to Ricardo López, Sylvia Ortiz Batallas, and Asociación Civil Amigos del Arte Andino (AMARA). Agustina Rodríguez Romero got a $25,000 research grant, while Abril Urcola and Alexander Narvaez each received $5,000 for travel.
Key facts
- Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation awarded over $160,000 in 2026 Art of the Spanish Americas grants and fellowships.
- Eight recipients across five categories: postdoctoral, predoctoral, research/travel, conservation, exploratory travel.
- Camila Mardones Bravo received $65,000 postdoctoral fellowship for research on 18th-century Catholic visual culture in Indigenous parishes of Bolivia and Chile.
- Juan David Parra received $50,000 predoctoral fellowship for study of colonial painting workshops in New Kingdom of Granada (Colombia).
- Ricardo López awarded conservation grant to restore three works by Melchor Pérez Holguín, including The Lord of Times (1710).
- Sylvia Ortiz Batallas awarded conservation grant for The Death of Saint Nicholas of Tolentino (1672) in Quito, Ecuador.
- AMARA awarded conservation grant for The Miracle of Saint Francis Xavier, rediscovered in Puno Region, Peru.
- Agustina Rodríguez Romero received $25,000 research/travel award for study of Diocese of La Paz, Bolivia.
- Abril Urcola and Alexander Narvaez each received $5,000 exploratory travel awards for research in Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia.
Entities
Artists
- Camila Mardones Bravo
- Juan David Parra
- Ricardo López
- Sylvia Ortiz Batallas
- Melchor Pérez Holguín
- Peter Paul Rubens
- Agustina Rodríguez Romero
- Abril Urcola
- Alexander Narvaez
Institutions
- Carl & Marilynn Thoma Foundation
- Asociación Civil Amigos del Arte Andino (AMARA)
Locations
- Dallas
- United States
- Bolivia
- Chile
- Colombia
- Peru
- Puno Region
- Ecuador
- Quito
- Argentina
- La Paz
- Andes
- Latin America
- Europe