E. Boyd

E. Boyd (active 1935) was a vital figure in the scholarship and preservation of Spanish colonial art from New Mexico. Operating during a critical period of cultural documentation, she worked across the roles of painter, diligent museum employee, and pioneering scholar. Her extensive contributions were cemented by her involvement with the Index of American Designs, a crucial arm of the Works Progress Administration’s Federal Art Project. Boyd's focused efforts yielded a staggering fifteen entries for the Index, securing visual records of traditional artistic practices that were rapidly fading from public view.

Her primary concentration was the devotional sculpture known as the bulto, carved wooden figures of saints (santos) that had been produced in isolation throughout the New Mexico territory for centuries. Boyd’s meticulously accurate renderings, many of which now reside in the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art, offer essential insight into the distinct religious iconography developed in the region. Her documented figures include detailed studies of subjects ranging from the complex grouping of Bulto - Holy Family to individual figures such as Bulto St. Rocce and Bulto; Saint Acacio. These records ensure that the integrity and unique aesthetic of these fragile, centuries-old works survive beyond their physical deterioration, providing museum-quality reference material for future study.

The enduring impact of Boyd’s work extends beyond the archives. As a dedicated scholar and later, as a curator, she established the scholarly framework for appreciating and contextualizing New Mexican devotional art, elevating the status of these regional religious artifacts to objects of national artistic significance. It is sometimes overlooked just how much intellectual detective work was involved in cataloging these pieces, often found in remote chapels or private, sometimes overlooked, collections.

Today, the result of her dedication is broad accessibility. The visual documentation she produced has entered the public domain, guaranteeing that high-quality prints and royalty-free images of these historical religious sculptures remain available to researchers, historians, and art enthusiasts worldwide. E. Boyd’s legacy is defined not only by the art she created herself, but by the comprehensive historical record she secured, ensuring that the unique visual culture of Spanish colonial New Mexico continues to resonate.