dieser beitrag wurde verfasst in: englisch (eng/en)
künstler (in grau: assistent/in): David Siqueiros, Luis Arenal Bastar, Reuben Kadish, Fletcher Martin
titel: Portrait of present day Mexico (Delivery of the Mexican Bourgeoisie Born of the Revolution into the Hands of Imperialism)
jahr: 1932
+: Fresco on cement, 250 x 980 m / 38.89 m2
«The fourth Los Angeles mural, Portrait of Mexico Today, is the only one that survives intact today. It was executed on a sheltered exterior wall of the private Santa Monica home of film director Dudley Murphy (1897-1968). […]
On this mural, measuring a bit smaller than the others at 8 feet high by 32 feet long, Siqueiros had the help of three artists from the Chouinard team: Arenal, Martin and Kadish. One speculation offered is that Siqueiros took the commission to escape the uproar he had created on Olvera Street. Also, since his visa was now expired, working away from the public eye at a private house would keep the officials at bay at least a little longer.
Originally titled Delivery of the Mexican Bourgeoisie Born of the Revolution into the Hands of Imperialism, the mural was re-named Portrait of Mexico Today. It portrayed Mexican President Calles, (whose government had previously exiled Siqueiros from Mexico), money bags at his feet and a mask falling from his face, along with forlorn women, a naked child, and two assassinated peasants along with a Red Army soldier. At one end Siqueiros painted a gold-framed picture of American financier J. P. Morgan (1837–1913), whom Siqueiros implicated for his involvement in the Mexican oil industry and subsequently the poor condition of that country.
[…] In 1946, Dudley Murphy sold his house to Minna and Willard Coe (Willard, ironically, was a nephew of J.P. Morgan). The couple originally planned to cover up the mural, but Murphy eventually persuaded them to preserve it. Robert and Justine Bloomingdale purchased the house and mural in 1986, and in 2001, gifted Portrait of Mexico Today to the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. Seen for the first time publicly on October 20th, 2002 at the museum, seventy years after it was created, Portrait of Mexico Today is one of the few tangible works left of Siqueiros’ immense mark on Los Angeles.»
(Merrell, 2010)