The Spanish Ambassador to the United States will bestow knighthood upon Sarah Schroth, the Nancy Hanks Senior Curator of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, for her work on an exhibition of Spanish art, "El Greco to Velázquez: Art during the Reign of Philip III."

Ambassador Jorge Dezcallar plans to present the insignia and entitlement of Knight-Commander of the Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic during a fundraising gala Friday, Nov. 7, at the Nasher Museum. Tickets for the gala can be purchased by calling (919) 684-3411. The ambassador also plans to visit the "El Greco to Velázquez" exhibition, which closes Nov. 9.

The award, also known as "Encomienda de la Orden de Isabel la Católica," is one of Spain's highest civil honors.

"Don Juan Carlos I, King of Spain, is pleased to honor Sarah Schroth for her outstanding contributions to the dissemination of Spanish culture in the United States," Dezcallar said. "She has helped to introduce to the world great Spanish masters of painting and sculpture who lived and worked with the famous El Greco and Velázquez, but who have until now been relatively unknown."

"El Greco to Velázquez" is the first comprehensive exhibition of art made for the Spanish court in the first two decades of the 17th century. Schroth co-organized the exhibition with Ronni Baer, the William and Ann Elfers Senior Curator of Paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Baer also will receive the honor.

"We are tremendously proud of Sarah, whose lifelong research made the exhibition possible," said Kimerly Rorschach, the Mary D.B.T. and James H. Semans Director of the Nasher Museum. "We are very pleased with the public's enthusiastic reception of this show, one of the most important old master exhibitions ever shown in the southeast United States."
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The Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University

The Nasher Museum of Art is located at 2001 Campus Drive at Anderson Street, on the edge of Duke's West Campus. The museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Thursday; and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. The museum is closed Mondays. The admission price for "El Greco to Velázquez" is $15 for adults, $5 for children ages 7 to 17, $5 for students and $5 for Duke faculty, staff and students. Children 6 and under are free. Nasher Museum members receive free tickets, depending on the level of membership.

Visitors may purchase an Antenna Audio guide complementing the exhibition, in English or Spanish, for $3. Visitors can purchase tickets by visiting the Nasher Museum's information desk, visiting the Duke University Box Office, going to www.tickets.duke.edu or calling (919) 660-1701.

For more information, go to www.nasher.duke.edu/elgreco or call 684-0700.

Exhibition Sponsors

The exhibition is sponsored at the Nasher Museum and at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, by Bank of America and is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. Additional support was provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities, The Homeland Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. The exhibition and accompanying catalogue are presented with the collaboration of the State Corporation for Spanish Cultural Action Abroad (SEACEX), which is supported by the Spanish Ministry for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation and the Ministry of Culture.

A list of additional sponsors is available at www.nasher.duke.edu/elgreco.