Something Old, Something New
2026 Spanish Market Purchases
The return of the Spanish Market marks 100 years of artistic excellence, innovation, and traditional arts. While this year's market is a landmark celebration in its own right, the museum is also honoring the occasion by celebrating the growth of its collection through new Spanish Market purchases. Expanding our collection has always been both a priority and a privilege. This year, we focused on acquiring new pieces from artists already represented in our collection while also introducing works from new voices.
Something Old
Nicolas Otero has been a part of our collection since 1997, when the museum purchased a retablo titled "Holy Child of Atocha" at the Spanish Market; he was a part of the Youth Market at the time. Even then, Otero’s artistic abilities were impossible to ignore. Over time, his attention to detail, contemporary take on traditional forms, and sophisticated color palette have evolved beautifully. Our latest acquisition from Otero, a retablo of Santa Rita, is a testament to our commitment to growing alongside our artists and serves as an ode to the traditional Spanish art forms that inspired the SCAS collection a century ago. Nick Otero was also named this year’s Master Artist and what better way to celebrate this career mile stone with Nick!
Joining Otero is a bulto of "Our Lady of Refuge" by Rhonda Crespin. In 1994, the museum purchased "The Visitation," a 20th-century bulto from Crespin. Until this year, we held only four of her pieces, with the most recent acquisition in 2018. This new addition demonstrates the artist's advances in her craft. Notice the refined carving, the softness in the facial features and hands, and the richness of the pigment. Making this a particularly special purchase is that Rhonda was a mentor of Nick Otero’s early on in his career. Rhonda is a fantastic teacher who has taught retablo workshops here at the museum and we look forward to more.
Lastly, we highlight Richard Gabriel Jr., a newer artist in our collection. Following our initial acquisition from the 2025 Spanish Market, Richard has long been a highlight and quick to sell out at market. This year, Richard received "Best in Tinwork" at the Spanish Market, marking a moment of excellence in market history and because we make a point to get there early, we were able to acquire his award winning piece for our collection. Richard is a fabulous teacher and tinsmith, we love his dedication to sharing his craft.
Something New
While celebrating established artists, we also welcomed two new artists into the fold. Specializing in straw appliqué crosses, Jordan Ortega Aguilar and Holly Moya's pieces are now officially accessioned into our collection. Holly Moya, daughter of straw applique artist Craig Moya and granddaughter of Jean Anya Moya, is 12 years old and already showing signs of the talent and ability that runs in her family. This is Jordan’s first year in market and his already expertly detailed work was a hit. He is inspired by the work of Paula Rodriguez and has visited the SCAS collection for inspiration!
Much like our history with Otero, we look forward to watching these young artists grow and following their artistic journeys into the future.
