The Arts in Latin America, 1492–1820 was a splendid exhibition covering the period from the time Columbus arrived until the moment when emerging nations from Chile to Mexico moved toward independence. Showing it in three dramatically different venues—Philadelphia, Mexico City, and Los Angeles—resulted in three profoundly different statements. In Philadelphia one simply gasped to see such luxury from so many fabulously wealthy colonies (mostly Spanish and Portuguese). When visitors walked through the Mexican show, however, they noticed something different: a preponderance of Mexican works, with the less numerous objects from the Andes, Brazil, and other nations positioned as if to frame the national pieces. Los Angeles was different still: though the Mexican-American population is immense, that exhibition replicated the politically remote overview of the Philadelphia show. Yet that distance, in this case from the local latino audience, sparked reaction. It is important to realize that the works in each venue were not the same objects arranged in different ways: like a fresh cast of actors for a play, the items themselves changed more than usually happens when an exhibition travels: Mexico added an unusual number of major works that were available only there. In Los Angeles one saw a distilled...