Tomás de Suría, Matías de Gálvez, Viceroy of New Spain, after 1785. Engraving; 9½ × 6½ in. Gift of the Collection of Frederick and Jan Mayer, 2013.344.

Tomás de Suría enrolled at the artistic Academy of San Fernando in Madrid at age 12, where he studied engraving under Jerónimo Antonio Gil. At age 16, Suría was sent to Mexico with Gil, where he took on a position as an engraver in the Royal Mint and assisted his mentor in instructing the art of engraving. Suría was later involved in founding the Academy of San Carlos, the first major artistic academy in the Americas. In 1791, Suría joined the Malaspina expedition along the northern Pacific coast, producing engravings and a private diary of the journey. After the death of Gil, Suría was promoted to chief engraver at the Royal Mint.

Matías de Gálvez y Gallardo served as the 48th Viceroy of New Spain from 1873-74. While his tenure was short – ending with his death after less than two years – he made efficient work of his time in office, improving the capital’s roads, waterways, and police force, and organizing the city into quadrants. His efforts also included reviving one of the city’s newspapers, establishing a bank, making improvements to the Castle of Chapultepec, and conserving historical papers from New Spain. Notably, Gálvez approved the Academy of San Carlos, which had begun to form under his predecessor, and supported it financially.

Suría produced this engraved portrait of Gálvez to accompany an account of the viceroy’s funeral exequies in 1785. The artist has included references to Gálvez’s military accomplishments and political power. The Latin inscription at the bottom comes from the 24th Ode of Horace and reads: “When shall Loyalty unshaken, and candid Truth e'er find a peer to him?” With its spare lines, Suría’s portrait already evidences the shift to neoclassical styles that would predominate in the 1800s.

– Kathryn Santner, Frederick and Jan Mayer Fellow of Spanish Colonial Art, 2022