Paint the Revolution: Mexican Modernism, 1910–1950 June 25–October 1, 2017
Frida Kahlo, Self-Portrait on the Border Line between Mexico and the United States, 1932, oil on metal, collection of María and Manuel Reyero, New York. © 2017 Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico D. F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Diego Rivera, Ballad of the Proletarian Revolution, 1928–29, frescoes, Courtyard of Fiestas, level III, Ministry of Public Education, Mexico City. © Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Tina Modotti, Woman of Tehuantepec, c. 1929, gelatin silver print, Philadelphia Museum of Art, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Zigrosser.
José Clemente Orozco, Barricade, 1931, oil on canvas, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, given anonymously. © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
María Izquierdo, Our Lady of Sorrows, 1943, oil on board, private collection.
Alfredo Ramos Martínez, Zapatistas, c. 1932, oil on canvas, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Albert M. Bender Collection, gift of Albert M. Bender. © The Alfredo Ramos Martínez Research Project, reproduced by permission
Adolfo Best Maugard, The Powdered Woman, 1922, oil on cardboard, collection of Lance Aaron and Family.
Saturnino Herrán, The Offering, 1913, oil on canvas, Museo Nacional de Arte, INBA, Mexico City.
Antonio Ruiz, Bicycle Race, 1938, oil on canvas, Philadelphia Museum of Art, purchased with the Nebinger Fund.
Diego Rivera, Dance in Tehuantepec, 1928, oil on canvas, collection of Eduardo F. Costantini, Buenos Aires. © Banco de México Diego Rivera Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, Mexico D.F. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Información en español sobre la exposición
Paint the Revolution: Mexican Modernism, 1910–1950 charts the development of modern art in Mexico and the social, political, and cultural forces that shaped it over the course of nearly half a century. Featuring some 175 works—including prints, photographs, books, newspapers, easel paintings, large-scale portable murals, and mural fragments—Paint the Revolution is unprecedented for its breadth and variety.
The most comprehensive exhibition of modern Mexican art displayed in the United States in more than seven decades, Paint the Revolution presents masterpieces by well-known figures such as Frida Kahlo, José Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Rufino Tamayo. Also on display are works by many of their important contemporaries, including Manuel and Lola Álvarez Bravo, Miguel Covarrubias, Alfredo Ramos Martínez, Carlos Mérida, Roberto Montenegro, and Dr. Atl (Gerardo Murillo). Three historical murals by los tres grandes (“the three great ones”)—Orozco, Rivera, and Siqueiros—are digitally re-created and projected in the galleries. The exhibition offers visitors the opportunity to see the emergence of Mexico as a center of modern art.
Publication
The illustrated exhibition catalogue is available through the MFA Shop (713.639.7360) and the Museum’s Hirsch Library (713.639.7325).
► Exhibition Admission
Tickets include access to the Museum’s art collections.
| MFAH Member (Join now!) | Free |
| Adult (19+) | $18 |
| Senior (65+ with ID), Military (with ID), College Student (19+ with ID), Youth (13–18) | $13 |
| Child (12 & younger) | Free |
This exhibition was originated by the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City. The presentation in Houston was organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Bank of America is the National Sponsor of “Paint the Revolution: Mexican Modernism, 1910–1950.”
This project has been made possible in part by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the human endeavor. This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.
In Houston, the exhibition is also supported by:
H-E-B
Ignacio and Maria Isabel Torras
José Luis Barragán
The Honorable Oscar Rodriguez Cabrera
Consul General of Mexico
Celina Hellmund, Nina and Léon Brener-Hellmund
Mr. and Mrs. Greg Curran
Stephen and Johanna Donson
Linda and George Kelly
Trini and O.C. Mendenhall Foundation (Trini, Jan, and Oniel Mendenhall)
Cathy and Alex López Negrete
Ms. Silvia Salle
Daniela and Manolo Sánchez
Federica Simón de Andina
The accompanying catalogue in English and Spanish is made possible by the Mary Street Jenkins Foundation. The English-language edition is additionally supported by the Davenport Family Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Fund for Scholarly Publications at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and by Furthermore: a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund.
