ON VIEW: This is the first exhibition to explore the forgotten history of the sala de estrado …
“A Room of Her Own: The Estrado and the Hispanic World”
Hispanic Society Museum & Library
New York City
hispanicsociety.org
Through March 9, 2025
The Hispanic Society Museum & Library (HSM&L) is presenting “A Room of Her Own: The Estrado and the Hispanic World.” This is the first exhibition to explore the forgotten history of the sala de estrado, an area in elite homes where the woman of the house could escape the expectations of her class in order to receive visitors, display her valuable objects, sew, play and listen to music, consume luxuries such as hot chocolate, and even (in a few cases) practice witchcraft.
These spaces emerged during the Islamic occupation of Spain and became widespread throughout the Hispanic world, including the Americas, but slowly disappeared as the Spanish Empire collapsed in the 19th century.
References to them appears in travelers’ accounts, inventories, legal records, and works of fiction, yet scholars have generally overlooked the profound impact such spaces had on women’s self-expression, physical autonomy, sociability, and intercultural exchange, not to mention their collecting practices. Particularly ignored have been the non-European women who used such spaces.
Curated by Alexandra Frantischek Rodriguez-Jack, the checklist includes many works from the HSM&L collection never exhibited before. Among them are paintings, books, engravings, lacquer boxes, mother-of-pearl tables, and carpets. The exhibition will be complemented by a series of live concerts featuring classical music composed by women of Iberian descent.
