Patricia Lagarde

Curator of Collections, MARI

School of Liberal Arts
People Classification
Faculty
Tulane Affiliation
Core Faculty
Region
  • Latin America
  • Andes
Patricia Lagarde's headshot

Biography

Patricia Lagarde is a scholar in Art History and Latin American Studies, holding a doctorate from Tulane University. Dr. Lagarde has held curatorial and administrative roles at renowned institutions, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New Orleans Museum of Art, and the Walters Art Museum. Most recently, she co-curated Latin American Art / Arte Latinoamericano, the first permanent installation of Latin American art in the history of the Walters Art Museum. She currently serves as the Curator of Collections at the Middle American Research Institute.
 
Dr. Lagarde's ongoing book project, “(Un)tethered: The Lives of Chavín’s Tenon Heads,” examines the tenon heads of Chavín, tracing their significance across different historical periods and exploring the role of memory in the accumulation and interpretation of material culture. This project is an extension of her dissertation, which she defended with distinction in 2022.  Her research has received support from prestigious grants and fellowships, including those from the Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Program, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS).

Research

Middle American & Andean Artifacts, Pre-Colombian Sculpture, Museum Curation, Public and Digital Humanities, Peru

Degrees

  • Ph.D., Art History and Latin American Studies, Tulane University, 2022
  • M.A., Anthropology, The Catholic University of America, School of Arts and Sciences, 2009
  • B.A., Anthropology (major), Sociology, Studio Art (minors) Texas Christian University, AddRan College of Liberal Arts, 2007

Academic Experience

Academic Experience
  • Curator of Collections, the Middle American Research Institute, Tulane University, 2026-
  • ACLS H. and T. King Fellow in Ancient American Art and Culture in Support of (Un)tethered: The Lives of Chavín’s Tenon Heads (Manuscript in development), 2025-2026
  • Wieler-Mellon Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellow – Art of the Americas, The Walters Art Museum, 2023-2025
  • Archivist and Curator for Centennial Projects, Roger Thayer Stone Center for Latin American Studies, Tulane University, 2022-2023

Distinctions

  • American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) H. and T. King Fellowship in Ancient American Art and Culture ($66,000) In Support of (Un)tethered: The Lives of Chavín’s Tenon Heads (Manuscript in development), 2025-2026
  • Museums for America Grant, Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) ($249,966), co-author and co-curator In Support of Latin American Art/Arte Latinoamericano at the Walters Art Museum, 2024 Exhibition Grant, Terra Foundation for American Art
  • P.E.O. Scholar Award, P.E.O. International Foundation ($20,000), 2021-2022
  • Andrew W. Mellon Predoctoral Fellow, The Metropolitan Museum of Art ($53,000), 2020-2021

Languages

  • Spanish

Overseas Experience

  • Peru
  • Belize

Selected Publications

  • Forthcoming. Lagarde, Patricia. “A Worldly Impression: A 19th and 20th Century Biography of Peru’s Raimondi Stela.” To be published in Publication 74, Conference in Honor of Elizabeth Hill Boone, The Middle American Research Institute Publication Series
  • Forthcoming. Lagarde, Patricia. “A Portrait without a Face?: A New Acquisition by Ana de Orgeboso,” The Journal of the Walters Art Museum, 78 (2026).
  • Forthcoming. Lagarde, Patricia. “The Balance of Time: Kukuli Velarde’s Wak’a del Agua” The Journal of the Walters Art Museum, 78 (2026).
  • Forthcoming. Lagarde, Patricia. “Light and Sculpture in the Andean Highlands” Glossary on Sculpture and Public Art, The China Academy of Art.
  • Forthcoming. “Static Faces, Shifting Bodies: Kinesthetics in Chavín Architectural Sculpture” Paper to be published in edited volume Architectural Sculpture in the Ancient World: A Cross-Cultural View, edited by Gretel Rodríguez and Megan Rubenstein.
  • 2025. Hoobler, Ellen and Patricia Lagarde. The Spirit Within: Art and Life in the Americas. The Walters Art Museum, 2025. Bilingual Spanish and English. Publication accompanying the exhibition Latin American Art/Arte Latinoamericano.
  • 2023. Lagarde, Patricia. “Sculpting with the Sun: Phenomenology of Light in Architectural Sculpture at Chavín de Huántar, Peru,” Latin American and Latinx Visual Culture, 5.3 (2023): 32-49.
  • 2022. Lagarde, Patricia and Erick Acero. “Reconsiderando la experiencia del espectador ante las esculturas líticas de Chavín de Huántar.” Actas de VII Congreso Nacional de Arqueología (2020). Lima: Ministerio de Cultura (2022):129-138
  • 2021. Lagarde, Patricia. “Bottle: Leaf-Nosed Bat,” 9th – 5th century B.C., Tembladera, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1978.412.210, New York, NY, July 2021.
  • 2021. Lagarde, Patricia. “Feline Bottle,” 600-400 B.C., Tembladera, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1978.412.217, New York, NY, July 2021. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/310662. Accessed 24 September 2021.
  • 2021. Lagarde, Patricia. “Pair of Arm Bands,” 7th-5th century B.C., Chavín, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2003.274a,b, New York, NY, January 2021.