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Portfolio Cover for Mexican People

A work made of photo relief in black, green, and white on orange cloth portfolio cover.
© 2018 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SOMAAP, Mexico City

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  • A work made of photo relief in black, green, and white on orange cloth portfolio cover.

Date:

1946

Artist:

Leopoldo Méndez
Mexican, 1902-1969

About this artwork

Intended for a U.S. audience, the group portfolio Mexican People was originally commissioned by the Council for Pan-American Democracy in New York to promote Mexican products for export to the United States. Ultimately published by American Associated Artists (AAA) of New York—the Taller de Gráfica Popular’s first such collaboration with a U.S. organization—the 12 lithographs were accompanied by a map indicating the resources and industries of the various regions that each of the 10 artists had visited, funded by the AAA, in order to prepare his print. Although varied in tone and artistic approach, the prints tend to focus on labor and distinctive regional customs rather than on the portrayal of individuals, and some bear traces of the project’s original conception in their semi-ethnographic feel.

Español:
Dirigido a un público estadounidense, el portafolio colectivo Mexican People fue encargado por el Consejo para la Democracia Panamericana en Nueva York para promover la exportación de productos mexicanos a los Estados Unidos. Al final fue publicado por la Asociación de Artistas Americanos de Nueva York y representa la primera colaboración de este tipo entre el Taller de Gráfica Popular y una organización estadounidense. Las 12 litografías que lo componen iban acompañadas de un mapa que indicaba los recursos y las industrias de las diferentes regiones que los diez artistas habían visitado, con el financiamiento de la asociación, para preparar sus grabados. Aunque diferentes en tono y estilo artístico, los grabados tienden a centrarse en la representación del trabajo y en las distintas costumbres regionales más que en el retrato de individuos; algunos incluso conservaron rastros de la concepción semietnográfica original del proyecto.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

Leopoldo Méndez

Title

Portfolio Cover for Mexican People

Place

Mexico City (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1946

Medium

Photo relief in black, green, and white on orange cloth portfolio cover

Dimensions

40.8 × 46.6 × 1.3 cm (16 1/8 × 18 3/8 × 9/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Joseph R. Shapiro

Reference Number

1956.733.13

Copyright

© 2018 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / SOMAAP, Mexico City

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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