Art of Devotion: The Santos de Palo Tradition of Puerto Rico

Mint Museum Randolph
Charlotte, North Carolina
August 2, 2025–June 1, 2026

Santos de palo are wooden folk sculptures of Catholic saints, carved in Puerto Rico since colonial times. Originally adorning home altars of isolated peasant farmers without access to churches or priests, they came to be influenced by African and Indigenous modes of expression. The 200-plus works here belong to Puerto Rico–born, Charlotte-based collectors Nitza Mediavilla Piñero and Francisco Toste Santana.