College of Architecture and Urban Studies receives Spanish American slide collection

Smithsonian Institution Curator Emeritus of Hispanic American Art Richard E. Ahlborn has donated the his collection of slides documenting Spanish American architecture, art, decorative art, and iconography to the Art + Architecture Library in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies library at Virginia Tech. The Ahlborn Slide Collection consists of more than 4,000 slides, representing a lifetime of scholarly work.

Ahlborn is a scholar of Tucson, AZ's, San Xavier del Bac, a unique mission church where a 10-year restoration he helped spearhead has recently been completed. The church is the subject of his most recent book, “Mission San Xavier del Bac: A Guide to Its Iconography” (University of Arizona Press, 2004). Ahlborn's research explores the Catholic images and emblems of San Xavier through a close analysis of newly revealed iconographic elements and through an interpretation of the significance of their placements.

"The College of Architecture and Urban Studies will find this collection of slides very beneficial, especially for those researching art history," said Humberto Rodriguez-Camilloni, director of the College of Architecture and Urban Studies’ Henry H. Wiss Center for Theory and History of Art and Architecture.

The Art + Architecture Library is located in Cowgill Hall on the Blacksburg campus.

The College of Architecture and Urban Studies is one of the largest of its type in the nation. The college is composed of two schools and the departments of landscape architecture, building construction, and art and art history. The School of Architecture + Design includes programs in architecture, industrial design and interior design. The School of Public and International Affairs includes programs in urban affairs and planning, public administration and policy, and government and international affairs. The college enrolls more than 2,000 students offering 22 degrees programs taught by 160 faculty members.