Visual Culture of the Ancient Americas: Contemporary Perspectives

It is difficult to imagine that an art history of ancient America was nascent in the middle of the last century. Visual Culture of the Ancient Americas: Contemporary Perspectives, edited by Andrew Finegold and Ellen Hoobler, celebrates and honors, upon her retirement, the teaching, collaboration, and scholarship of Esther Pasztory, professor emerita of art history at Columbia University and one of the founding scholars of pre-Columbian art history in the United States. The excellent essays collected here were sparked by Pasztory in various ways. Contributors are colleagues and former students from the United States, Latin America, and Europe at all career stages, trained in archaeology, anthropology, and art history and coming from academia, independent research, and natural history and art museums. Individually, the chapters contribute to the study of ancient American art and exemplify the field's breadth and transformation. Collectively, the...