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INVENTORY OF THE DAVID ALFARO SIQUEIROS PAPERS, 1921-1991, bulk 1930-1936
960094
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Title: David Alfaro Siqueiros papers
Date (inclusive): 1920-1991 (bulk 1930-1936)
Number: 960094
Creator/Collector:
Siqueiros, David Alfaro
Physical Description:
2.11 linear feet
(6 boxes)
Repository:
The Getty Research Institute
Special Collections
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, California, 90049-1688
(310) 440-7390
Abstract: A leading member of the Mexican muralist movement and a technical innovator of fresco and wall painting. The collection consists
almost entirely of manuscripts, some in many drafts, others fragmentary, the bulk of which date from the mid-1930s, when Siqueiros
traveled to Los Angeles, New York, Buenos Aires, and Montevideo, returning intermittently to Mexico City. A significant portion
of the papers concerns Siqueiros's public disputes with Diego Rivera; there are manifestos against Rivera, eye-witness accounts
of their public debate, and newspaper coverage of the controversy. There is also material regarding the murals
América Tropical,
Mexico Actual and
Ejercicio Plastico, including one drawing and a few photographs. The Experimental Workshop in New York City is also documented.
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Language: Collection material is in
Spanish; Castilian and
English
David Alfaro Siqueiros was a leading member of the Mexican muralist movement and a technical innovator of fresco and wall
painting. His ideological differences with Diego Rivera attracted much attention in the 1930s.
Open for use by qualified researchers.
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David Alfaro Siqueiros papers,1921-1991, bulk 1930-1936, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Accession no. 960094.
Acquired in 1996.
Processed and described by Annette Leddy; revised in 2012.
Scope and Content of Collection
The David Alfaro Siqueiros Papers contain one rare serial from 1921 Spain, and otherwise consist almost entirely of manuscripts,
some in many drafts, others fragmentary, the bulk of which date from the mid-1930s, when Siqueiros traveled to Los Angeles,
New York, Buenos Aires and Montevideo, returning intermittently to Mexico City. Often he gathered teams of artists to work
with him on creating murals and developing new techniques and implements for mural painting. Marxist theory as interpreted
by the Communist Party guided Siqueiros in these artistic endeavors, and the collection contains a number of manifestos demonstrating
how he integrated art and ideology in the organization of his workshops, in his theory of Mexican muralism, and in his painting.
A significant portion of the papers concern Siqueiros's public disputes with Rivera; there are manifestos against Rivera,
eye-witness accounts of their public debate, and newspaper coverage of the controversy. There is also material regarding the
murals
America Tropical,
Mexico Actual, and
Ejercicio Plastico, including one drawing and a few photographs. The Experimental Workshop in New York City is also documented.
These papers were entrusted to, and partly created by, Bolivian artist Roberto Berdecio, Siqueiros's assistant and friend,
who kept them for about 40 years. Unless otherwise noted, materials in the archive are by Siqueiros. Where the date of an
undated manuscript is reasonably certain, it has been included in the first four series; where the date is not known, the
manuscripts have been included in Series V. Miscellaneous. Due to the challenges of dating this material, where a date is
written on the item, it is included on the inventory even if it repeats the date of the grouping under which it is cataloged.
The papers are organized in 5 series:
Series I. Spain/Mexico, 1210-1991;
Series II. Los Angeles, 1932, undated;
Series III. South America, 1933;
Series IV. New York, 1934-1977, undated;
Series V. Miscellanous and fragmentary manuscripts, undated.
Berdecio, Roberto
Rivera, Diego, 1886-1957
Siqueiros, David Alfaro
John Reed Club (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Communism and art--Mexico
Mural painting and decoration, Mexican
Mural painting and decoration--California--Los Angeles
Painting--Technique
Photographic prints
Photographs, Original