A Moment in Time: The Odyssey of New Mexico's Segesser Hide Paintings

Painted in New Mexico sometime in the first half of the eighteenth century, the two large works of art that have become known as the Segesser Hide Paintings were sent to Lucerne, Switzerland in 1758 by a Jesuit missionary. Rediscovered after World War II by a Swiss ethno-historian, the paintings returned to New Mexico in 1986. As works of art they are unique. As historical documents they are revealing. They are the most novel and important artifacts, if not works of art, of New Mexico's Colonial history. The history, intrigue, and inherent value of the Paintings has no bounds. Scholars have marveled over them. This book is an anthology that brings together a sampling of those scholars who have seen and studied the Paintings. The information gleaned from the Paintings inspired them to think about history and art in different ways. Five of this book's authors have passed away, others continue to learn and share. The true value of the Segesser Paintings is that knowledge continues to radiate from them. This book is but a example of that benefit, an important contribution to New Mexico's Centennial.