The McKnight Collection: Santos y Exvotos
by Cassandra Yardeni

In 1969, El Pasoans Frank and Sara McKnight purchased an assortment of retablos and exvotos from a private art collector. Recently, the McKnights have decided to donate their vast collection to the El Paso Museum of Art. These pieces have traditionally served as beacons of veneration and faith for the Catholic community and the museum is proud to introduce “The McKnight Collection: Santos y Exvotos,” which will be on display from October 7 through January 27.

The significance of the retablos and exvotos on exhibit is both historical and artistic. A retablo is a canvas (made of tin, sheet metal, copper or wood) which features a sacred oil painted image of a Catholic deity or saint. Historically, these paintings were placed in Catholic homes or houses of worship (behind altars) as exvotos, or “votive offerings” to God. Typically, the exvoto is signed and dated, and explains why the giver is offering thanks.

“Catholics are often attracted to saints for their ability to produce miracles and comfort during difficult trials…[exvotos] are more personalized because they were commissioned by devotees who had a genuine desire to give thanks for prayers and requests answered,” says Katherine Smith, curator of the collection at the El Paso Museum of Art, of the folk art tradition.

Depicting icons like Our Lady Guadalupe, Saint Isadore the Farmer, and the Sacred Family, “The McKnight Collection: Santos y Exvotos” offers El Pasoans a chance to appreciate the striking beauty and significance of these exquisitely preserved works of art. Of the exhibit, Smith says, “There hasn’t been an exhibition on retablos at this museum in a while and the museum saw it as an opportunity to educate the public… [This] collection [is] one of the best of the region.”