Cultural Threads – Nellie Dunton and the Colcha Revival in New Mexico

Featured will be colchas from the THM’s permanent collections and the hand-colored plates of colcha designs from Nellie Dunton’s the Spanish Colonial Ornament. In the 1930s the Federal Art Project encouraged colcha (a form of embroidery) work in Northern New Mexico. During this time, Nellie Dunton undertook the study of design patterns found on Spanish Colonial colchas. Her published portfolio of hand-colored plates was instrumental in the revival of this art form.