Surrealism in Mexico
This term is used to refer to the artistic movement that started to grow in Mexico some
years after Andre Breton published the Surrealist Manifesto (1924), with Frida Kahlo,
Leonora Carrington, Mara Izquierdo and Remedios Varo as the most representative women
artists of this period. What helped this movement grow in Mexico was the great number of
exiled surrealist artists that came from Europe and influenced the young artists. The first
gallery presenting only surrealist paintings in Mexico was commissioned by Breton
himself, and was held on January 17th, 1940. The movement generally follows the same
conventions of European surrealism, but elements from the Mexican culture can be
perceived in it, such as the use of bright colors.
Mexican Muralism
This movement was born in 1913 and was the major art movement in Mexico during the
20th Century; it was the result of a chaotic time in the country, a few years after the
revolutionary war started. The artists intended to create a national identity and educate the
people through the walls of the most important buildings in the city. The first modern mural
was painted by Gerardo Murillo, who thought that Mexican art should reflect Mexican
life. This idea permeated most of the works that were later painted by the three most
important figures of the movement: Jos Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera, and David Alfaro
Siqueiros. Lesser known women muralists also had a great participation in the movement.
Elena Huerta and Aurora Reyes Flores are the most important of the time. There are also
the Greenwood sisters, who are considered by James Oles, in his book, Las Hermanas
Greenwood en Mxico, the first women muralists in Mexico
The Ashcan School in the United States
The Ashcan School was a group of realist painters from the United States that was formed
during the first years of the 20 th Century. The term was first used to refer to this group in
the book Art in America in Modern Times in 1934. Robert Henri is considered the father of
the movement. Their belief was that what is truly beautiful is what is real, and therefore
what should constitute art. Their work consists mostly of New York landscapes, the city
where all the members of the first generation of the group moved to. Many of those
paintings show problems that are iconic of their time like immigration and poverty. Some
art critics see in them an artistic homologous of Walt Whitman. They differentiate from the
group of The Eight, since not all of their members were in both groups and The Eight
formed some years after the Ashcan movement. They claimed to be concerned by social
issues but since they never adopted a political view, lately their art has started to be seen
less concerned with the social aspects.
Cecilia Beaux (1855-1942)
She was borne in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and was one of the most famous American
painters of her time and a near contemporary of the equally famous Mary Cassatt. In 1876
she attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and after she had finished her
studies there she decided to take a course in porcelain painting at the National Art Training
School. In 1888, after having had success in her hometown thanks to her first large canvas,
she decided to go to France for further training. After she returned to her hometown she
began to paint portraits, especially of prominent people and the elite of Philadelphia.
During this time she became a very productive artist; she had her own studio and decided
not to marry to give art all her attention. In 1895 she became a teacher in the Pennsylvania
Academy of the Fine Arts. She had her work exhibited in Europe and the United States. She
received several awards for her portraits during the years that followed.
Georgia OKeeffe (1887-1986)
She was born in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin. OKeeffe was the first daughter of a large family
of farmers. She discovered her passion for art at an early age; she was taught by a local
watercolour artist, Sara Mann, to paint while she was still a very young. From 1905, she
studied at various art schools: the Art Institute of Chicago School, the Art Students League
of New York, the University of Virginia and Columbia University's Teachers College in
New York. She later married Alfred Stieglitz, who financed her first exhibitions. In 1972
she was diagnosed with macular degeneration, which affected her central vision, making it
difficult for her to paint without assistance. Her work in distinguished by a unique palette
that finds it most beautiful contrasts in her paintings of flowers and other natural forms she
found interesting in her surroundings.
Hilda Belcher (1881-1963)
She was an American realist painter, born in Vermont and was part of the Ashcan school.
She decided to go to New York to attend the New York School of Art, where she met
important figures of the modernist movement, especially Robert Henri, who she considered
her mentor . Like many other members of the Ashcan School, she started her career as an
illustrator and years later turned to painting. She became famous after she won the
Strathmore watercolor competition in 1908, especially because she was the only woman
participating among 700 competitors. Belcher also worked as a teacher for some years,
after becoming famous for her caricatures in magazines like Town and Country. She won
several prizes during her life. As part of the Ashcan school, her aim was to depict real life,
which she achieved especially during the second half of her career as a painter, but unlike
most of the other members, she did not paint life in one of the big cities.
Violet Oakley (1874-1961)
She was an American muralist, illustrator and stained glass artisan; Violet Oakley was born
in New Jersey in 1874 and is considered part of the American Renaissance mural
movement of the late 19th century. She studied in the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine
Arts, with Cecilia Beaux as her portraiture teacher. Due to some economic problems she
later decided to change the focus of her art and decided to study in the Drexel Institute
School of Illustration where she met the illustrator Howard Pyle, who was a great influence
in her art style. She is recognized as the first American woman to receive a public mural
commission, since, at the time there were only men muralists in the United States because it
was conceived as an activity for men. This public commission is her most famous mural,
located in the Pennsylvania State Capitol.
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