Diego Rivera, along with David Alfaro Siqueiros and José Clemente Orozco, led the Mexican muralist movement. Public murals instructed and inspired on a grand scale, engaging with social and political issues and often uniting people in a call to action. Building on a mural tradition dating to pre-Hispanic times, these public commissions became a prominent platform designed to reflect the formation of a national identity following the Mexican Revolution.
Kahlo and Rivera were deeply engaged politically, joining the Mexican Communist Party in the 1920s to champion workers’ rights and the labor movement in the rapidly industrializing country.
The newly established government commissioned artists to create murals throughout Mexico City. Muralists addressed both heroic and tragic histories in vibrant, monumental works that were intended to instill optimism and pride. They were considered intellectual workers who made revolutionary and nationalist ideals visible.
Artist unknown
Frida and Diego during an Antifascist Demonstration in Mexico City, 1936
Gelatin silver print
Throckmorton Fine Art, New York
[Artwork Description: A black and white photograph of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo demonstrating outdoors. The photo shows the couple from the hips up, standing side by side. Rivera has his right fist raised in the air. Several other figures crowd them from the sides. Diego stands at center right, his head thrown back slightly, his mouth open, perhaps giving a speech or shouting. His arm and fist are in the center of the photo. He wears a dark suit with a light shirt and a scarf is draped over his torso. At left stands Kahlo, hands clasped in front of her as she looks right into the distance. Her hair is pulled back, and she wears a shawl and dark dress.AT far right and far left, figures crowd the couple and are only partially seen. The figure at far left wears light-colored shirt and belted trousers with a cap. Another figure is glimpsed between Rivera and Kahlo in the background and two more partial figures are seen at far right. A large window and building wall are in the background of the scene.]
Lucienne Bloch
Swiss, 1909–1999
Frida and Diego at the New Workers School, New York, 1933
Gelatin silver print
Throckmorton Fine Art, New York
Following his dismissal from the Rockefeller Center commission, Rivera used the payment he received to complete a mural cycle called Portrait of America for the New Workers School in New York City.
[Artwork Description: A black and white gelatin print of Diego Riviera and Frida Kahlo seated on a radiator in a room holding hands. They are both looking directly at the camera and are in the center of the photograph with Diego at left and Frida at right. They are seated in front of large windows and there are two banners above them. The upper banner is partially cropped and has large text that reads “Workers”. It takes up almost the entire horizontal space of the photo. Beneath that is another banner with smaller text promoting a 1 year subscription to Modern Monthly. Other legible words include “Lenins”, “The State”, “Dr. Marx”, “The Civil War in France”. Diego Rivera is wearing bib overalls and Frida Kahlo wears white blouse, with a kerchief around her neck, a dark long sleeved top and a long floral skirt.]
Juan Guzmán
Mexican, born Germany, 1911–1982
Frida and Diego by the Mural The Nightmare of War and The Dream of Peace, Palacio de Belles Artes, Mexico City, 1952
Gelatin silver print
Throckmorton Fine Art, New York
[Artwork Description: A black and white gelatin print of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera in front of a large mural “The Nightmare of War and The Dream of Peace”. Frida is seated in a wheelchair with her body at an angle facing toward the mural and away from the camera but with her face looking over her right shoulder towards the viewer. She has her hair up on the top of her head and is wrapped in a scarf or sweater with a long skirt on. Diego is standing about six feet away from her facing her holding and looking at a palette and brushes which he holds with both hands. He is wearing a dark brown vest and pants and a long light button down. Behind him is a small table with a white container of paintbrushes. The mural is large, with life size figures painted. In the foreground, there are many people interacting with each other. There are children and adults, people with black, tan and white skin. Soldiers, men in suits, women holding babies and children, Frida with a small child at her side, and a man in overalls with one arm pointing up and the other reaching back. Some of the figures have yet to be painted and are white outlines of a body and a head. Behind all these people are a row of soldiers with guns drawn, black smoke billowing in the background and a man on a crucifix in front a painting with two men who have been lynched. To the right of this mural is just a fragment of another mural, one with skyscrapers and vertical marquees in the background and a bustling city scene with a large box being moved with many onlookers.]
After Diego Rivera
Mexican, 1886–1957
Self-Portrait, 1933
Aquatint
The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th Century Mexican Art and the Vergel Foundation
The popularity of Diego Rivera’s murals inspired publishers to distribute high-quality reproductions of his work that appealed to the general public and helped spread the ideals of the Mexican Revolution to a wider audience. The six images on view here were produced using aquatint, an etching process that allowed the printer to recreate the colors and textures of the originals. These reproductions document how the artist’s work circulated in the market.
[Artwork Description: Self-portrait of Diego Rivera sitting with his head titled to the right, leaning against a wall composed of horizontal rough wooden boards. He wears a gray wool jacket with one button visible, a dark shirt with a collar, and a brown sombrero with a small patch of black hair visible above his ear. His dark colored eyes are fixed, staring at the bottom left corner and the whites of his eyes are cloudy. His brown skin is covered with dark spots and wrinkles. The thick cream mat at the bottom of the painting has capital letters reading: “Ministry of Education, Mexico City, Self Portrait, Diego Rivera.”]
After Diego Rivera
Mexican, 1886–1957
A Division of the Lands (detail), 1933
Aquatint
The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th Century Mexican Art and the Vergel Foundation
[Artwork Description: A rectangular print with a thick cream border. The print contains many men and a few horses. Starting in the foreground at far left of the image there is a tanned figure standing on a column of concrete. They are wearing an all white outfit with an orange belt and have their pant leg rolled up to the knee, and bare feet. On the same level as the column is a very short person wearing a matching outfit of all white with an orange belt around their waste and holding a straw hat in their right hand. They are also barefoot with their pants ending above their ankles. To their right is a taller tanned man with dark hair and a dark mustache with a white shirt, and tan riding chaps holding horse reigns in his left hand. All three of these figures are viewed from behind. In front of the tall man there are three men in profile on horses. The two on the sides have tan skin, and dark hair. The furthest wears a mustache, and the man in the middle has light skin and yellow hair and wears a yellow jacket. The man with the mustache has on a gray jacket and a pink neck tie. At lower center, the profile of a white horse is seen. The horse has black reigns and is looking at the viewer. Behind the white horse, one can just barely make out the heads of the two other horses that the three men are on. The rest of the lower scene is crowded with other figures.]
After Diego Rivera
Mexican, 1886–1957
Emiliano Zapata, the Agrarian Leader, 1933
Aquatint
The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th Century Mexican Art and the Vergel Foundation
[Artwork Description: Five men wearing all white collared shirts and pants hold field tools including a shovel next to a large white horse. In the front, left, Emiliano Zapata, a Mexican man with brown skin, short black hair, and a black mustache stands in front of the group, left arm outstretched holding the bridle of the horse and right arm resting at his side with a silver knife in his hand. He wears a brown cross-body bag and is leaning backwards, his body appearing almost flat and angular. The white horse stands to the right. Its neck is curved and its head is pulled slightly downward as Zapata holds the bridle. It has large dark eyes and smooth white hair. The bridle consists of a solid brown leather strap along the jaw and light and straps consisting of vertical dark and light brown stripes across its forehead and nose. That pattern is repeated in the rope around its neck and the harness around its chest that connects back to the brown saddle. A small flat black stirrup connects to the saddle and a white rope is coiled and hanging from the saddle. Behind the horse dark brown and green landscape can be seen. The men standing behind Zapata look towards or beyond the horse. Light gray, capital letters at the bottom of the mat read “Palace of Cortez, Cuernavaca. Emilano Zapata, The Agrarian Leader.”]
After Diego Rivera
Mexican, 1886–1957
Head of Slain Indian, 1933
Aquatint
The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th Century Mexican Art and the Vergel Foundation
[Artwork Description: Content notice: This description includes a graphic depiction of a murdered individual. A dead figure with dark brown skin and long black hair wears a blue shirt and lays on a bed with round wooden poles forming the bed frame, held together with dark thin leather ties. A white sheet with bloodstains is held up above the head. Blood trickles out the mouth and tears drop from the right eye. In the distance a knife lays on the wooden floor. Individual brush strokes are prominent creating a thick textured feel. The thick cream mat at the bottom of the painting has capital letters reading: “Palace of Cortez, Cuernavaca. Head of Slain Indian.”]
After Diego Rivera
Mexican, 1886–1957
Cane Workers, 1933
Aquatint
The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th Century Mexican Art and the Vergel Foundation
[Artwork Description: A field of blue gray stalks of cane sugar that almost resembles waves with eight workers with dark brown skin dressed in white pants, white long sleeve shirts, and some wearing tan sombreros harvesting them. On the bottom left, a man with a hat bends forward grasping rope around a cane sugar bunch. Next to him in the center is a tall man wearing sandals and carrying the heavy cane bunch on his back, his head titled downward and to the left with his black bangs dangling. There’s a large rip on his right sleeve at his armpit and elbow. Below him to the right another worker bends over a bunch of sugar canes, tying ropes around it. His face isn’t visible, just the top of his hat. Behind the man carrying the bunch of sugar canes is a white horse facing toward the back of the painting. The horse stands with its neck straight, looking down at the workers. The rider is barely visible – right hand with a leather glove outstretched with a dark brown whip and the right leg wearing brown chaps with brown boots in stirrups. The horse has dark brown leather bridle. Beyond the horse two additional workers without hats lean over the sugar cane. The legs and arms of two other workers are seen in the distance. The thick cream mat at the bottom of the painting has capital letters reading: “Palace of Cortez, Cuernavaca. Cane Workers.”]
After Diego Rivera
Mexican, 1886–1957
Market (detail), 1933
Aquatint
The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th Century Mexican Art and the Vergel Foundation
[Artwork Description: Painting shows the feet of two children and two adult women. The figures have dark brown, smooth skin and are wearing white dresses. The one on the left has a zig zag pattern at the bottom and knee that is bordered by dark orangish brown stripes and the one on the right has a similar pattern with circular swooshes. The girl in the foreground carries a white satchel on her left shoulder that has a rope tied to it that hold the feet of three dead birds, a large black and gray turkey, a black and white striped chicken, and a white chicken. The thick cream mat at the bottom of the painting has capital letters reading: “Palace of Cortez, Cuernavaca. Market detail.”]
After Diego Rivera
Mexican, 1886–1957
While the Poor Sleep, 1933
Aquatint
The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th Century Mexican Art and the Vergel Foundation
[Artwork Description: Crowded narrow alleyway filled with a variety of people. In the foreground at the bottom of the painting a dark-skinned figure wearing a white long-sleeved dress with pleated cuffs, tan sandals, and a large brown hat rests, sitting on the ground, feet crossed, knees bent, right hand resting on their knees, and head resting on their bent left arm. A small gray dog is curled up on the ground to the right. Next to the dog a woman with light brown skin and black hair that is parted in the middle and pulled into a bun sits on her knees and leans her left shoulder against the wall. She wears a white short sleeve shirt with pleats in the front and a dark orange skirt. Her left arm dangles against the wall and her right arm is attended, palm up, and a young child sleeps on it. The child has short black hair, light brown skin, a white short-sleeve shirt, and a blue blanket or skirt. Behind the woman another woman with light brown skin and long dark hair parted in the middle and cascading down her back wears a blue dress and holds an infant wrapped in her dress. An older child with light brown skin, black hair, and a white shirt with no pants leans on the woman’s right shoulder. To the child’s left another figure sits, back to the wall, wearing a large orange robe and a large light brown hat that obscures the face. Behind a figure stands wearing blue overalls with large back pockets with silver buttons and pleated sleeves. The figure’s hand rests on an open book, pointing to a specific word. Two light colored hands rest on the edge of the pages and two white shirts are visible behind. The thick cream mat at the bottom of the painting has capital letters reading: “Ministry of Education, Mexico City, While the Poor Sleep.”]
After Diego Rivera
Mexican, 1886–1957
Street Fair (detail), 1933
Aquatint
The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th Century Mexican Art and the Vergel Foundation
[Artwork Description: Very detailed portrayal of a busy street fair. People are crowded into a small area and the perspective is as from looking down from a window behind the vendors booths. On the bottom left a large woman stands facing the crowd. She wears a white dress with a pleated waist. Her long black hair is pulled into a bun. A young girl stands next to her. She wears a gray shawl and has long dark black hair, parted in the middle, braids down each side that connect at the bottom. In front of her is a light brown table with a wide, shallow terracotta colored bowl and a large pot of the same color with a large brim and tiny round handles on two sides. A clear glass bottle and two cups sit to the right. Behind them a light-brown skinned woman wears a white sleeveless dress with a rounded neck and three horizontal ruffles at the bottom. Her long black hair is pulled into a wide bun with a large flat brown wooden piece extending out from the bun and a matching headband around the top of her head with a small twisted curl in front of her ear. She wears a brown necklace and brown oval dangling earrings. The first row of customers stands on the other side of the table. On the left a light-skinned woman wears a dark dress with buttons and a blue hat that is form fitted with a small rounded brim at the bottom. She holds a traditional Mexican mask that is white with the design of a skull with her thin long fingers. A shorter figure of a bald light-skinned individual with dark eyebrows and squinting eyes is seen next to her shoulder. To the right, a woman with light skin and a dark shirt and hat has her eyes closed, mouth open, and holds a skull against her neck. Behind the school a young child with light skin wears a black shirt with a white collar and a wide-brimmed tan hat with a black ribbon around the top. Next a man with light brown skin and black hair wears a white shirt, brown short skinny tie, a brown suit, and a tan hat. His eyes are closed as he drinks from a glass. A man and woman stand behind him to the right watching. The man wears a black suit, white shirt, and thin black and gray checkered tie. The woman has slightly darker brown skin and has her long black hair pulled up into a beehive with a thin brown headband just above her forehead. She has a large left eye and a dark mole on her left cheek. A figure wearing a black tank top stands next to the woman, both hands grasping a cup and drinking. Behind the figure a portion of a man’s head with short black hair is visible. The second row of visitors starts with a light skinned figure with a brown hat with a light blue ribbon tied on the left side and dangling down walking off the painting. Next a light-skinned man with small wire framed oval glasses, a small mustache, and a tan hat with a black ribbon around the top. Next a woman wearing clothing resembling a nun – a black dress with a white scalloped color, and a black hat with a long black vail looks downward, lips pursed. She has rosy cheeks and thick eyebrows. Next a man with a barely visible long black beard walks to the left, eyes wide open wearing a large bright orange hat with a brown ribbon at the base. He has rosy cheeks and dark eyeliner. Next a woman with brown skin stands, head facing up, eyes closed, hair parted on the side and pulled behind her head. The third row of visitors starts with the partial face of a figure eyes closed, smiling, wearing a hat. To the right a shorter light-skinned individual with black wire frame glasses and thin eyebrows stands wearing a tan hat. Next a figure walks to the right, face obscured by a round brown hat that has a ribbon and buckle on the right side. Next a woman with just her left eye visible, with long lashes and black eyeliner wears a black hat with a cream-colored feather decoration. Behind her is a man that resembles Diego Rivera. Large, round-face, almond eyes, plump limps, and large arched eyebrows that go down to his nose. He has black hair and a large tan sombrero. Next to him is a man with light colored skin, a black monocle, and a black top hat. A light-skinned woman looks towards the man that resembles Rivera. She has jaw length blonde hair, a teal hat with a large bird and feathers on the front left, and rose-colored lipstick. To her right are multiple hats, where faces cannot be seen. One is light tan with a wide brim, another is a darker brown beret. The fourth row has a row of large dark colored cactus. Behind them is a wooden display with a marionette hanging from the front with black pants and orange boots – with a metal bolt at the knee. Behind the display holds rows of white decorated skulls. Behind the support pole a blonde figure peeks over a black sign with just squinting eyes visible. Behind a sea of hats blend into the square natural bricks that line the wall. To the right is a light-colored stone archway. To the right beyond the sea of hats are some stonework that have small black crosses on them. Above is a brown platform with two figures or sculptures appearing to sleep on it under white sheets. A pile of black rock looking objects sits on the corner. Beyond is a pile of unidentifiable objects and wooden shelves with white skull shaped objects in a line. Most of the colors are natural and muted, with a few highlights of brighter colors throughout the scene. The thick cream mat at the bottom of the painting has capital letters reading: “Ministry of Education, Mexico City, Detail from Street Fair.” ]
José Clemente Orozco
Mexican, 1883–1949
Three Generations (The Family), 1929
Lithograph
Portland Art Museum Purchase: Funds provided by the Portland Fine Print Fair Fund, 2021.8.1
In 1923 Orozco was invited to paint a series of murals at the National Preparatory School, the leading high school in Mexico City, along with several other painters, including Rivera and Siqueiros. Orozco abandoned the project after several of the works were damaged by protesters. He returned in 1926, revising some of the murals and completing new works. He later translated some of his images into prints.
[Artwork Description: A landscape-oriented black and white lithograph of two women and a baby. Both women are facing the viewer and seem to be asleep, seated against a stone or brick wall. The older woman, cradling a baby upright on her chest, has a dark shawl covering her head and partially wrapped around the child in addition to its lighter-toned wrap. The woman is positioned just to the right of center in the composition and angled slightly to the right. Her hands are folded in her lap covering the foot area of the child. The baby’s hair covers most of her chin as the child rests on her chest. The younger woman is to the left with her face at half the height of the first woman. Her dark hair appears braided and hangs down behind her shoulders, which are covered by a fabric wrap. A dark scarf is wrapped around her neck. To the right of the women, a forearm and hand are reaching up and resting upon what may be the shoulder of another, larger person. The background forms show lines of stone or brick structures. The one on the left rises above the head of the younger woman, narrowing as it ascends, suggesting an oven or fireplace. To its right, above the older woman’s head, is an arch-shaped portion that curves to the right. Above the large shoulder form with the hand, there is another structure with a straight vertical edge on the left and a concave curve at the top-right of the frame. The area behind the brick forms is shaded in darkly.]
José Clemente Orozco
Mexican, 1883–1949
The Unemployed, 1932
Lithograph
Portland Art Museum, The Vivian and Gordon Gilkey Graphic Arts Collection, 84.25.397
[Artwork Description: A portrait-oriented lithograph in black and white showing three standing male figures and one seated male figure. All are facing the center of the composition. The center standing male wears a dark poncho-looking garment. His eyes are cast down or closed and his face expression is dreary. On the right, the second male faces away from the viewer. He wears a long-sleeved shirt and a dark cap that has a strap at the back of his head, with his ear and neck exposed, his head in a semi-downward position. His left arm and fisted hand hang at his side. The back of the arm and the upper back are white, appearing to reflect the sun. The third man stands to the left of the center figure, facing to the right. His expression is stern and fixed. Light reflects from the right side of his neck and chest. He wears a dark shirt or coat. Directly below him is the seated man, also facing to the right, with light reflecting from his bald head, which has dark hair on the sides. He is wearing long-sleeved clothing and is covering his face with his long-fingered right hand. The only background in the picture is a horizontal wash of darkish quality behind the heads of the standing figures. It gives the impression of a “dark cloud” that matches the body posture and expressions of the men.]
José Clemente Orozco
Mexican, 1883–1949
La Revolucion, 1929
Lithograph
Portland Art Museum Purchase: Helen Thurston Ayer Fund, 46.44
[Artwork Description: A landscaped-oriented lithograph in black and grays. It is comprised of six human forms, two of which are female. Most appear to be moving from right to left, except for a sizable person in the left of the frame facing away from the viewer and wearing a white cloaked garment and wide-brimmed hat. The head is looking down so that only the lower side of the hat’s brim is visible. A long rifle barrel angles up and to the right from in front of the person’s right shoulder. A band of ammunition hangs in a sash-like manner from the left side of the neck and down towards the right side of the waist. A dark horizontal, cylindrical shape appears to be hanging from a cord behind and just below the figure’s waist. To the right of the figure and centered in the frame is a gray-haired woman in a long garment. She faces the viewer, bending over and extending her left arm around the chest to support a man who is struggling to stay upright, his left knee almost to the ground and his right hand grasping the barrel of his rifle whose stock is resting on the ground. His left arm hangs down with his fingers brushing the ground. Another woman appears on the right side of the frame and a bit further in the background. She wears a long, hooded garment and is leaning forward under the weight of a large pack on her back that extends from her head to her waist. Her arms are curled up to either side of her chin as she grasps a long object that extends towards the viewer. In the background behind these figures are two male forms in identical strides with their right legs stretched behind them and marching to the left, rifle barrels angled up over their right shoulders. Their dark pants and coats provide contrast to the lighter shades of the two women in front of them. Behind the human forms in the composition is a dark triangular shape. It rises from the horizon on the left upwards toward the top of the frame about two-thirds of the way to the right. What appears to be a flight of steps steeply descends from its peak back down to the horizon on the right.]
José Clemente Orozco
Mexican, 1883–1949
The Women’s March, 1929
Lithograph
Portland Art Museum Purchase: Helen Thurston Ayer Fund, 46.45
Women known as soldaderas fought in the Mexican Revolution. They also supported male soldiers in the field as cooks, seamstresses, laundresses, and sexual partners, among other roles. This print shows a detail from one of the murals that Orozco painted at the National Preparatory School.
[Artwork Description: A landscape-oriented black and white lithograph of four soldaderas, or women soldiers, and two male soldiers. The background has a tall foreboding wall that comes to a point in the center of the print. It is white on the left and black on the right. On the left, a large figure in a white robe that covers their head sits on the ground, legs bent at the knees, right arm reaching upward. Their face is angular and somewhat obscured. A thin figure in all black with a black veil reaches out and holds the first figure’s hand. While the face is obscured, both figures look towards the corner of the wall where the other figures have just disappeared past. In the center, a figure wearing a long dark skirt and a dark head covering with light illuminating the top carries a large dark bag in her right hand. Next to her, a woman in an all white robe leans against the wall to the right. She has long black hair, parted in the middle, and braided. In front of them, two male soldiers wearing all black with large white sombreros carry muskets over their backs and walk, heads hanging down. The floor and space above are shaded with black horizontal lines. The artist’s signature is on the bottom right.]
José Clemente Orozco
Mexican, 1883–1949
Zapatistas (Generals), 1935
Lithograph
Portland Art Museum, The Vivian and Gordon Gilkey Graphic Arts Collection, 80.122.501
During the Mexican Revolution, the zapatista forces were allied with Emiliano Zapata, the agrarian leader and military general from the southern state of Morelos. Zapata formed the Liberation Army of the South and fought many battles against federal armies until his assassination in 1919.
[Artwork Description: Tightly cropped, landscape-oriented black and white lithograph showing a large hill with a sea of soldiers marching over and around it. The top left corner is darkly shaded with black fine horizontal lines. The large hill rises upward toward the center of the print. At the bottom left is a soldier wearing all white with a dark sash at the waist and dark bandolier, a sash to hold bullets on his left shoulder. He wears a very large sombrero and carries his musket over his left shoulder as he walks down the hill, away from the group. Three soldiers are prominent on the top of the hill. They are all dressed in black pants, white shirts, black sashes, black neckties, and large sombreros. The first two have long pointed mustaches that extend several inches past their faces. Their large round white eyes appear to extend out of the sockets, their faces appearing shocked. The third man’s eyes are closed and he has a black bandana over the bottom half of his face, hanging down to his chest. In front of them is a sea of faces and sombreros, most with features difficult to distinguish. Eleven men stand in the first two rows from the bottom of the print and have visible faces. All have square angular heads with large lips, and a grimacing expression. One in the middle has a dark, square, embellishment on the front brim of his sombrero that resembles a bird. The figures and sombreros grow smaller and smaller as you look back with those in the back being represented by just the cone tops of their sombreros. Words appear in cursive at the bottom of the print. 25/130 on the left corner, a sentence in the middle, and a signature on the bottom right.]
José Clemente Orozco
Mexican, 1883–1949
The Rear, 1929
Lithograph
Portland Art Museum Purchase: Helen Thurston Ayer Fund, 46.46
[Artwork Description: Landscape-oriented black and white lithograph of a group of soldiers and civilians walking in a tight formation away from the viewer. Most of the soldiers are only visible by their wide brimmed sombreros and the sharp tips of their muskets. They wear dark clothing with light colored sombreros. The back of the group has various civilians including a small child in a white shirt with a small sombrero riding on a woman’s shoulder. To the right, a man with a dark coat carries the tip of a musket with the body extending back behind the group. To his right, in the center of the print, a woman wearing a dark dress and dark sombrero carries an infant in a back wrap. The infant is clothed in white including a bonnet and has bare legs and feet. The woman reaches behind with her left hand and grasps the infant’s left foot. The woman to the right is dressed the same and also has a shoulder wrap, the contents shrouded in a fabric wrap. At the right corner a woman walks wearing an all white floor-length dress with a black wrap hanging from her shoulder to her mid back. Her black hair is combed straight down her back and she carries a satchel in front of her. The bottom of the print is shaded in dark lines and the top in lighter gray lines.]
José Clemente Orozco
Mexican, 1883–1949
Stones, 1935
Lithograph
Portland Art Museum Purchase: Marion McGill Lawrence Fund, 92.194.52
[Artwork Description: Landscape-oriented black and white lithograph of a large pile of dark, sharp, angular rocks piled high with multiple figures resting and walking on it. The figures have similar long black hair parted in the middle, faces which include a squarish shape, small almond eyes that are solid white or solid black, long thick lips, a wide nose, and angular lines running from the forehead, down the cheeks, and from the lips down the chin. All of the figures in the foreground wear the same white capes, pulled up to the back of their head and wrapped around their arms. A tall figure stands in the rocks on the left side. Another sits prominently in the foreground near the center of the lithograph, legs concealed under the cape, arms crossed in the lap. The large skirt of the cape spreads out to adjacent rocks and has shadows in the pleats. To the right, two figures sit back to back, one facing the jetty and one facing the viewer, both wrapped fully in the capes. Above, a woman wearing a headscarf, long skirt, and a fabric sling around her left shoulder that has a small child inside with bare legs and feet peeking out the front. Her arm is outstretched and a small child with a large hat stands below in profile, details obscured by heavy shading. Mostly straight horizontal lines fill the sky above the rocks. The artist’s signature is in cursive on the bottom right of the print.]
Acme News photographer
Diego and Frida in New York Following Destruction of Rivera’s Mural Man at the Crossroads, 1933
Gelatin silver print
Throckmorton Fine Art, New York
In 1932 Rivera signed a contract to paint a mural in Rockefeller Center’s RCA building in New York City. He began work on the piece, Man at the Crossroads, in April 1933. Within a few weeks a furor erupted over the mural’s pro-Communist themes, in particular the inclusion of a portrait of Lenin. Nelson Rockefeller, who commissioned the work, insisted that Rivera remove the portrait. Rivera refused and was fired. The mural was destroyed the following year. Writing to the press from Mexico, Rivera denounced the Rockefellers for committing an act of “cultural vandalism.”
[Artwork Description: A black and white portrait of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. Rivera is posed at top left, appearing to sit on the arm of a sofa while Kahlo is seated to the lower right on the sofa seat. They both look directly at the viewer. Rivera wears a light-colored suit with a vest and a light shirt and dark tie. His eyes are large, and his dark hair is combed away from his face. His left arm is around Kahlo’s shoulder. Kahlo wears a dark shawl on her shoulders, many short, beaded necklaces and a white blouse. Her right arm and elbow rest on the sofa arm, and her left hand rest in her lap. She wears her dark hair parted in the middle and pulled back. She has dark brows and wears large hoop earrings. The wall behind Kahlo is bare and behind Rivera’s head part of a lamp shade is visible.]
Artist unknown
Diego Observing Frida Paint Self-Portrait on the Borderline, Detroit, 1932
Gelatin silver print
Throckmorton Fine Art, New York
This photograph shows Kahlo working on one of her most complex paintings, Self-Portrait on the Borderline between Mexico and the United States (1932; Philadelphia Museum of Art). The canvas frames the relationship between tradition and modernity as a confrontation between the Indigenous culture of Mexico and the industrial culture of the United States.
[Artwork Description: A black and white photograph of Diego Rivera observing Frida Kahlo painting a small picture in front of a large mural. Both figures are seen from the side, facing right. Rivera stands at left, leaning on the back of Kahlo’s chair and holding a paint brush while watching her paint. He wears overalls with one shoulder strap undone, over a vest and white long sleeve shirt. His dark bushy hair is slightly disheveled. Kahlo, appearing much smaller in size than Rivera, sits in a wooden folding chair, legs crossed at the knee and holding a paint brush up to a small square painting of a figure in a long white dress. Her hair is braided then wrapped across the crown of her head, she wears large dangling earrings, and is wrapped in a shawl with a deep lacy border. We see one high heel shoe peeking out from her long dark skirt. Behind the couple is a mural sized painting showing a figure wearing a cap, glasses and coveralls appearing to work with oversized machinery. In the foreground at lower left, a stand holding brushes in a can and a stack of small books is partially seen.]
Florence Arquin
American, 1900–1974
Frida Kahlo Wearing a Plaster Cast, about 1950
Gelatin silver print
Throckmorton Fine Art, New York
Arquin photographed Kahlo recovering from a medical procedure that required her to wear a thick plaster cast. Kahlo often decorated these casts, covering this one with Communist emblems across the chest and an image of a fetus across the stomach.
[Artwork Description: A gelatin silver print portrait of Frida Kahlo seated upright in a metal chair. Frida is directly looking at the camera with lips pursed and squinting eyes. The left side of her face is in shadow, as is the lower right of her lap. Her hair is pulled tightly up, with a center part and a large ribbon on her head. She’s wearing dangling beaded earrings, a dark pleated skirt, and a striped short-sleeved shirt pulled up to her shoulders, exposing a plaster cast covering her chest and torso. The plaster bodice has a hammer and sickle symbol painted in the upper center, a sun icon to the camera left, and a star beneath. Below that is a curled-up fetus encircled with a twisted umbilical cord. Her hands sit on her lap, and her left arm is adorned with two metal bracelets and a ring on each finger. She is seated in front of a plain white wall, and besides her sits a wooden chair and table.]
Frida Kahlo
Mexican, 1907–1954
Untitled (Bomba Atomica), about 1951
Charcoal and mixed media on paper
The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th-Century Mexican Art and the Vergel Foundation
[Artwork Description: Charcoal sketch of a version of Statue of Liberty. Lady Liberty holds the torch with her right hand. A label is written to the right of the torch “Bomba Atómica”. A bag hangs from the torch with the label “Dinero”. At the base of Lady Liberty are sketches of smaller figures with labels, “Muso”, “Franco”, “Truman y MacArthur”, and “Hitler”. Below is the square base with a short fence-like structure surrounding it. On the corner is a figure that is labeled “Papa”. The word “Capitalista” is connected to the base with a long line. Below are four sections of the base. The first three are comprised of two rows of squares with circles in the center in the front and with vertical lines resembling windows on the left. The final section is solid with a door in the middle of the left side and in the front. Writing to the right reads “Neos comunistas negros y de todos.” The ground consists of shading, loosely formed letters, and long squiggly lines.]
Frida Kahlo
Mexican, 1907–1954
Lady Liberty, about 1949
Colored pencil on paper
The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th-Century Mexican Art and the Vergel Foundation
[Artwork Description: Colored pencil sketch that is reddish brown in color. The loosely sketched depiction of Lady Liberty statue has many adaptations. Figures are drawn over each other with loose lines. Lady Liberty’s outstretched right arm holds a bag of money with the word “Dinero” next to it with a sphere on top with the label “Bomba Atómica” to the right. Her head has the infamous crown with five thin spikes and the label “La Libertad”. Behind her head is a barely visible head with a large dark hat and the words “Tio Sam”. She wears a necklace with puppet forms hanging from it with the label “Collar de Titeres”. To the right is a barely visible sketched figure with the label “Ricos capit.” Lady Liberty’s left arm is bent and she holds a book in her hand. To the left another row of loosely sketched figures has the label “America Lat. Miguel Alemán, etc.” Just below a figure is labeled “Papa”. On the left side are additional loosely sketched figures with the labels “Franco”, “Hiroltita”, Hitler, and Truman. Below is a rounded base with vertical rectangular sections with spheres inside them. On the left is the label “carcel” and under it an arrow with the label “Pueblo jodido”. On the right side near the middle of the statue are the words “La Estatua Entera”. Below are the words “Carcel con comunist negros y blancos.]
Frida Kahlo
Mexican, 1907–1954
Lady Liberty (Workers of the World Unite), about 1945
Colored pencil on paper
The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th-Century Mexican Art and the Vergel Foundation
In these drawings, Kahlo articulated her opposition to political and military developments in the United States, calling on workers to unite against the loss of freedom and what she considered a rising new Fascism. The surviving sketches, though never realized as a finished painting, speak to Kahlo’s interest in the potential for her work to spark political change.
[Artwork Description: The Statue of Liberty is sketched in red pencil. Various sections are labeled with the same pencil. Lady Liberty’s head is looking slightly to her right and down. Uncle Sam is peeking out from behind the left side of her head with his tall top hat higher than her crown. Instead of holding a torch in her right hand, she is holding an atomic bomb on her palm with a sack of money hanging from her wrist. She is wearing a necklace that is labeled “necklace of puppets”. Political figures are hanging from the collar. Their names are written at the side with a line drawn to the corresponding figure. The names include Truman, Hitler, Papa, and Rich Capitalist. The base of the statue is labeled as a prison.]
Frida Kahlo
Mexican, 1907–1954
The Sun Peeks through the Window, 1932
Pencil and colored pencil on paper
The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th-Century Mexican Art and the Vergel Foundation
Kahlo drew this view from an apartment in either New York or Detroit while traveling with Rivera for his mural commissions. She described feeling lonely in the United States and cut off from her family and friends in Mexico. American industry fascinated her, but she was deeply troubled by the indifference to the poor and the oppressed that she witnessed.
[Artwork Description: This is a pencil sketch of tall buildings viewed through a high window. A radiator is in the foreground. Above the radiator is a windowsill and above that a clear window that reaches to the top of the sketch. On each side are curtains. The view is of the top five stories of three large buildings. The one on the left is tallest and reaches ¾ of the way to the top of the sketch. A second, slightly shorter building, juts out to the right and is mostly hidden behind the first. A section of sky shows between the middle building and the one on the right. The building on the right is shorter. One can see the flat roof of the building as well as the top five floors. A sketch of a sun with a red center covers the top left window of the shorter building. This spot of red is the only color. Parts of the sketch are labeled in Spanish. The name of the painting is written in the sky near the top. The intended colors are written on various objects: Gray on walls and radiator, brown on the windowsill, white on the curtains and cloud, red orange for the sun. Some words written on the top of the left building are hard to read. The words Frida Kahlo 1932 are written on the radiator.]
David Alfaro Siqueiros
Mexican, 1896–1974
Siqueiros by Siqueiros, 1930
Oil on canvas
The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th-Century Mexican Art and the Vergel Foundation
A dedicated muralist and activist, Siqueiros stopped painting for several years to devote himself to his work as a labor organizer. He depicts himself with arms raised and crossed against his chest in a gesture that suggests his solidarity with the proletariat rather than the cultural elite.
[Artwork Description: This self portrait shows the artist face and his arms crossed over his upper body. The artist is turned slightly to the left wearing a solemn expression. He has light beige skin, dark bushy hair with pale blue eyes and a prominent nose that dominates his face. He has high cheekbones and reddish lips. His bare forearms are crossed over his chest so that his hands rest at his shoulders. His right hand is clenched in a fist while his left is loose and open. He wears dark clothing against a backdrop of earth tones with vertical lines and shadows that resemble the interior of a room. The overall effect of the painting is dark and shadowy.]
“I know now that he who hopes to be universal in his art must plant in his own soil…the secret of my best work is that it is Mexican.” – Diego Rivera