Several museums and libraries in North America and Europe house in their collections expressive works of art from Latin America. An understanding of the source of such collections requires study of their history and of the background from which they come, even if, as a matter of fact, collecting works of art and bibliographical assets on such a theme is not new. The interest in studying artworks which do not belong to the so-called western canon enables a wider knowledge of the art in Latin America. Notwithstanding the reasons behind such interest, it is worth noting that some facts related to their development are still lively, such as the interests roused by the travelling artists in the 19th century, who departed in search of the unknown or exotic and came back to their homeland with an imagination full of images from the New World. It is undeniable that Latin America has had a key role in the major changes that occurred during the age of discovery, when Europe focused on its colonies. Nowadays, as we observe the recurrence of such a foreign look at Latin America, we might ask ourselves how Latin America sees itself.