Female Figure, 550-100 B.C., Chupicuaro, Guanajuato, Mexico. Clay with polychrome decoration: 11" x 4-1/2". Purchased with Endowment Funds. PRE-COLUMBIAN FOLK ART re-Columbian Latin America produced folk as well as fine art. Fine art was made by highly trained artists who attended rigorous art schools. Fine artists worked for an elite and aristocratic patronage in complex urban centers. They employed symbols that justified and maintained the status of the ruling classes. Folk art, on the other hand, was produced for daily use in homes and for local religious and secular celebrations. It was attuned to the immediate needs and values of the common people.						Pre-Columbian Colonial Period African/Asian Influences 19th & 20th Centuries Folk Art Today