History Museum Director Frances Levine talks about a portrait of Don Diego de Vargas.

On Monday morning, the History Museum was proud to serve as a launchpad. Thanks to a new summer program by the Museum of New Mexico Foundation, more than 70 foundation members gathered at the museum for the premiere of “Member Mondays.”

Besides pitchers of cool cucumber water, the members were treated to intimate talks and tours of museum exhibitions led by key members of the museum’s staff.

Dr. Frances Levine, director of the museum, led visitors into the History Museum’s main exhibition, Telling New Mexico: Stories from Then and Now,  with a focus on the the life and times of Gov. Don Diego de Vargas, leader of the 1692 reconquest of Santa Fe.

Participants rotated through two other tours:

Collections and Education Programs Manager René Harris explored highlights of the new exhibition, Home Lands: How Women Made the West.

And Josef Diaz, curator of Southwest and Mexican Colonial Art and History Collections, talked about the centuries-old bultos, retablos and crucifijos showcased in the exhibit Treasures of Devotion: Tesoros de Devoción inside the Palace of the Governors.

Plans for additional Member Mondays are in the works for the New Mexico History Museum/Palace of the Governors, as well as the other state museums in Santa Fe.  Tempted to give membership a try or learn more about Member Mondays? Contact Mariann Lovato at (505) 982-6366, ext. 117 or mariann@museumfoundation.org.