The Spanish Craze: America’s Discovery of the Arts & Cultures of the Hispanic World, ca. 1880-ca. 1930

At the close of nineteenth-century Spain and the United States went to war. Paradoxically, that same era ushered in new interest in Spanish, and more broadly, Hispanic culture throughout the United States. This ‘craze’ for Spain manifested itself in multiple realms: art and architecture, as well as in literature, food, fashion, and design. This illustrated lecture explores the origins of this ‘craze,’ the factors that fueled it, and, finally, why its etched itself into American culture in ways that the “mini” Spanish craze of Edwardian Britain did not.