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Revolutionary artwork for the people is unaffordable to the people

by Lynda Carson (newzland2 [at] gmail.com)
Some Very Rare Signed Prints I Have By Some Revolutionary Artists Of The Taller de Grafica Popular (2 of them), May Be Seen In The Photo Of Some Artwork In My Apartment Behind, And Near The TV.
Some Very Rare Signed Prints I Have By Some Revolutionary Artists Of The Taller de Grafica Popular (2 of them), May Be Seen In The Photo ...
Revolutionary artwork for the people is unaffordable to the people

By Lynda Carson - June 8, 2024

Oakland, CA - Once upon a time, the artwork by famed revolutionary Mexican artist, “Homenaje A Jose Guadalupe Posada,” of the Taller de Grafica Popular (TGP) was affordable to the masses, poor people, and regular persons like you and me. The artwork was originally meant for the masses, and it was known as Indeed, in Oakland, at the Oakland Museum of California, some of the beautiful revolutionary artwork of “Homenaje A Jose Guadalupe Posada,” of the Taller de Grafica Popular, may be found, that is no longer affordable to the masses.

Some of the artwork that may be seen at the Oakland Museum of California, is by some famous revolutionary artists of the Taller de Grafica Popular. Click here for an example of a beautiful print in the Oakland Museum of California, that I gave to a friend many years ago as a gift drawn by an artist of the Taller de Grafica Popular, https://collections.museumca.org/?q=collection-item/2010542894 .

Another beautiful piece of artwork by Alberto Beltran (artist Taller de Grafica Popular) at the Oakland Museum of California may be seen by clicking here, https://collections.museumca.org/?q=collection-item/2010542893 , that is not affordable to the people.

Additionally, I gave away another beautiful signed print to a friend in Oakland of some artwork by Mariana Yompolsky Urback holding a baby, of the Taller de Grafica Popular many years ago.

These same prints and lithographs have become so rare, pricey, and difficult to find through the years, that if I could have looked into the future years ago, I may not have given those prints away to some friends of mine, and would have saved them to enjoy their beauty as time passes.

Many years ago in the 60s, 70s, and 80s or earlier, these beautiful revolutionary prints or lithographs were very affordable to the public, and could be bought or sold for as little as $2.50 a piece, or less, if they could be found.

Taller de Grafica Popular:

Reportedly, according to the Art Institute of Chicago where I hung out in front of the institute as a teenage runaway with some Yippies in the late 60s panhandling spare change from the visitors as they came and went, and selling The Chicago Seed Newspaper for a living, “The most influential and enduring progressive printmaking collective of its time, the Taller de Gráfica Popular (the Popular Graphic Art Workshop or TGP; 1937–2010) created some of the most memorable images in midcentury printmaking. This Mexico City–based workshop took up the legacy of the famous Mexican broadside illustrator José Guadalupe Posada, creating prints, posters, and illustrated publications that were popular, affordable, legible, politically topical, and, above all, formally compelling.

Founded in 1937 by Leopoldo Méndez, Luis Arenal, and American-born Pablo O’Higgins, the TGP emerged and evolved in the crucible of anti-fascist and leftist politics in Mexico in the period surrounding World War II. This environment shaped not only the workshop’s dedication to a collective printmaking model but also its production aimed at both “the people” and discerning collectors, a strategy necessitated by the era’s quickly changing political tides. The collective created works for groups spanning the leftist and progressive political spectrum, including the government of Lázaro Cárdenas and his successors, the Mexican Communist Party, major trade unions, and anti-fascist organizations.

During the TGP’s heyday, from its founding until the 1950s, the workshop produced thousands of prints, primarily linocuts and lithographs, for everything from ephemeral handbills and newspapers to political and advertising posters to luxe portfolios and printed books. Through an expressive, realist visual language, TGP’s work addressed a wide range of socially engaged themes, including Mexican history and culture, both local and international political satires (including calavera broadsides), rural and urban scenes of daily life, and agitprop prints. The members of the workshop, a core of about 40 during its height, produced both individual and collective works and welcomed numbers of foreign members and guest artists—from Elizabeth Catlett to Josef Albers—to use the workshop in order to collaborate on prints and create individual pieces.

The Art Institute holds over 100 works by the TGP, one of the most significant collections in the United States and a testament to the collective’s expansive influence, which led to the establishment of print collectives around the world.”

Prices for some of the artwork by artists from the Taller de Grafica Popular a.k.a The Peoples Print Workshop, may range from $450.00 a piece to $700.00 at this link https://mlagallery.com/collections/taller-grafica-popular-tgp .

Other pieces of art by artists of the Taller de Grafica Popular, may range in price as high as $12,000 or less at this link https://www.1stdibs.com/buy/taller-de-grafica-popular/ , which hardly seems affordable to the masses, or the people.

Additionally, even more artwork by artists from the Taller de Grafica Popular that appears to be unaffordable to the people may be found by clicking here https://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_nkw=taller+de+grafica+popular&Brand=&_dcat=360 , or by clicking here https://www.ebay.ca/sch/i.html?_nkw=taller+de+grafica+popular&Brand=&_dcat=360 , or by clicking here https://collections.lacma.org/node/580931 .


Some Unaffordable Signed Prints Or Lithographs To Many, By A Few Revolutionary Artists That I Have Had In My Possession For The Past 39 Years, Or More:


(Note: I have a beautiful signed lithograph called Merry-Go-Round, by Leopoldo Mendez)

Leopoldo Mendez

SIGNED by MEX. ARTIST LEOPOLDO MENDEZ ORIG. LINOLEUM CUT PRINT MERRY-GO -ROUND

Click below…

https://picclick.com/SIGNED-by-MEX-ARTIST-LEOPOLDO-MENDEZ-ORIG-253551753395.html

https://collections.lacma.org/node/203420

Mexican exhibit sheds light on lives of Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera

Published May 7, 2016 7:30pm

MEXICO CITY —  For more than 50 years, intimate photos and documents belonging to Mexico's Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera had been locked away in their private Mexico City resident.
Now, new personal letters, manuscripts, official documents and photographs are on display in Rivera's former San Angel studio and home which he once shared with Kahlo.

Espinoza explained the exhibit intends to show rare material belonging to Kahlo, Rivera, Gabriel Fernandez Ledesma, Isabel Villasenor, Francisco Goitia and Leopoldo Mendez and expose significant connections between their communications.

"To see and explore aspects of these important artists like Diego and Frida, as well as Leopoldo Mendez, etc. Diverse aspects that belong to their intimate life. You'll see in some documents that they were written in this area and on these furnishings and they are returning here," said academic co-ordinator of the project, Carlos Guevara.

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/lifestyle/artandculture/565428/mexican-exhibit-sheds-light-on-lives-of-frida-kahlo-diego-rivera/story/

Some artists including Leopoldo Mendez, and Diego Rivera

https://www.krabarchive.com/ralphmag/ES/mendez-woodcuts.html

https://www.park-books.com/en/product/mexican-graphic-art/668

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(Note: I have a signed lithograph called The Maguey of Topilejo, by Pablo O’ Higgins)

Pablo O’Higgins

The Maguey of Topilejo, Pablo O’ Higgins

PABLO O’ HIGGINS  “The Maguey of Topilejo”  Signed Lithograph 1950
Los Magueyes. Pablo O' Higgins

https://www.etsy.com/listing/213878008/pablo-ohiggins-the-maguey-of-topilejo

https://www.artoftheprint.com/artistpages/o_higgins_pablo_themagueyoftopilejo.htm

Pablo O’Higgins

Pablo O’Higgins (1904-83) was actually born under the name Paul Higgins in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 1904. His family had migrated westward for the opportunities offered by the expansion known as Manifest Destiny. O’Higgins attended Salt Lake City public schools including East High School, where he was influenced by his teacher LeConte Stewart. In 1924, he traveled to Mexico City to see the murals Diego Rivera was painting. O’Higgins became an assistant to Rivera, working with him on several of his most famous mural projects before becoming a muralist in his own right. He co-founded Mexico’s most important printmaking studio, the Taller de Grafica Popular. Today, Mexico considers him one of the most important muralists of its “second generation” of mural painters. O’Higgins became a Mexican citizen in 1961. 

https://umfa.utah.edu/pablo

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(Note: I have a signed lithograph called "Cabeza de la Mujer (Portrait of Na Kin)" by Raul Anguiano)

Raul Anguiano

Raul Anguiano - "Cabeza de la Mujer (Portrait of Na Kin)" by Raul Anguiano

https://www.etsy.com/listing/213879530/raul-anguiano-la-cabeza-de-la-mujer

https://www.mcfinearts.com/products/8

> https://catalogue.swanngalleries.com/Lots/auction-lot/RA%C3%9AL-ANGUIANO-Cabeza-de-la-Mujer-(Retrato-de-Na-Kin)?saleno=2507&lotNo=378&refNo=758467

https://www.pinterest.com.mx/pin/cabeza-de-la-mujer-portrait-of-na-kin-by-raul-anguiano-mexican-19152006--77616793567652629/

Brushes With Greatness : Mexican Muralist and Bowers Supporters Meet Over a Wall
By KATHRYN BOLD
Jan. 12, 1999 12 AM PT

The event: A reception for renowned Mexican muralist Raul Anguiano, held Thursday at the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art in Santa Ana. Anguiano put the first brush strokes on a mural that will become a permanent addition to the Bowers’ collection and the first example of the artist’s work in the United States.

Painting for posterity: More than 200 guests witnessed art history in the making when they gathered to watch Anguiano begin the 180-inch-by-100-inch mural.

Putting it in perspective: Raul Anguiano, who in Mexico is considered a living treasure, is a contemporary of artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. His works can be found around the world, from the Vatican to Mexico City’s Museo de Antropologia.

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jan-12-cl-62884-story.html

Raúl Anguiano was born in Guadalajara, Mexico, where he studied art and became interested in both ancient Mexican and contemporary popular art. In 1934, he moved to Mexico City, where he met Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco, and created his first large-scale mural. In 1937, he joined the Liga de Escritores y Artistas Revolucionarios (League of Revolutionary Writers and Artists) and cofounded the Taller de Gráfica Popular (Popular Graphic Workshop), an artists’ print collective.

https://www.famsf.org/artworks/untitled-seated-girl-holding-a-bitter-orange

Photograph of Marta Adams at dinner event with Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Raul Anguiano, Frances Toor, Alfredo Zalce, José Clemente Orozco, and others

https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/items/detail/photograph-marta-adams-dinner-event-diego-rivera-frida-kahlo-raul-anguiano-frances-toor-alfredo-zalce-jos-clemente-orozco-and-others-18794

https://www.si.edu/object/photograph-marta-adams-dinner-event-diego-rivera-frida-kahlo-raul-anguiano-frances-toor-alfredo%3AAAADCD_item_18794

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(Note: I have a signed lithograph called Grinding Sugar Cane, by Alberto Beltran.)

Alberto Beltran

Grinding Sugar Cane

https://www.ebay.com/itm/386663596259

> https://woodandstoneprints.com/listing/585251610/alberto-beltran-pencil-signed-taller-de

MFA exhibit illustrates a revolution in Mexican printmaking
Chris Bergeron/DAILY NEWS STAFF  |  MetroWest Daily News

For her first Museum of Fine Arts exhibit, curator Elizabeth Kathleen Mitchell has brought together exciting works by several of Mexico's most influential printmakers of the early 20th century.

Visually dazzling and informative, "Vida y Drama: Modern Mexican Prints" showcases 27 lithographs, linocuts and woodcuts from the MFA's collection.

Artists as stylistically varied as Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros and Alberto Beltran are represented in prints ranging from the 1920s to the 1950s.

https://www.metrowestdailynews.com/story/news/2009/06/07/mfa-exhibit-illutrates-revolution-in/41249128007/

Some collectible art prints of Alberto Beltran, Diego Rivera, and Pablo O’Higgins…

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search?material=Prints&page=1&q=New+York+City&geolocation=Mexico

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(Note: I have a signed lithograph called Tres Mujeres (Three Women), by Francisco Dosamantes)

Francisco Dosamantes

Francisco Dosamantes (Mexican, b. 1911) Women of Oaxaca

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/656914

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1528359491/francisco-dosamantes-tres-mujeres-three?show_sold_out_detail=1&ref=nla_listing_details

https://stevensfineart.com/artist-item.php?itemId=6500083&title=Women+of+Oaxaca&artistId=220926&artist=Francisco+Dosamantes&fromCart=1

https://www.skinnerinc.com/auctions/2507/lots/61

https://www.1stdibs.com/furniture/wall-decorations/prints/francisco-dosamantes-original-lithograph-1946-women-oaxaca/id-f_23200042/

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/656914

https://harvardartmuseums.org/collections/object/250380?position=0&context=person&id=31855

https://www.artnet.com/artists/francisco-dosamantes/women-of-oaxaca-wxvl0GwNwFp4leToiG1cPA2


Mexican Artists Diego Rivera, José Orozco, Francisco Dosamantes
525 Tour of Watershed and Future Cache at the University of Museum Museum of Art, narrated by Jennifer Freiss, and hosted by Sydney Richards, Liz Seger and Grace Van De.
 
Top Left: Diego Rivera Hat Makers, 1931, India ink
Bottom Left: José Orozco, Marching Women, ca. 1929, Lithograph on paper.
Right: Francisco Dosamantes, Gathering Up Kernels, Linoleum cut on Paper.
 
"The figures in these three powerful works representing various aspects of rural life in Mexico are reminiscent of the proletarian protagonists of many of Eisentstein's films and their struggles against economic privation and political domination. The camaraderie and teamwork of Diego Rivera's "Haymakers" stands in stark contrast to the shared desperation of the women in Dosmante's "Gathering Up Kernels", while the mystery of the story unfolding in Orozco's "Marching Women" conjure the uncertainty and foreboding of war and displacement." -from the informative plaque to the right of the three works.
 
September 28, 2022.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/marylea/52423613789


Francisco Dosamantes

Biography

Mexican printmaker and muralist; a member of the TGP; known in the United States primarily for his prints, but in Mexico carried out a number of mural commissions; a protegé of Diego Rivera, who partially sponsored his first solo exhibition 1930; in the 1930s was employed by the government's Program of Cultural Missions in Oaxaca and other towns; also worked in the state of Campeche as Director of the School and Workshop of Drawing and Painting, and his lithographs and woodcuts were used widely throughout the state in the government's campaign against illiteracy; first solo exhibition in the USA at the ACA Gallery, New York, September 1946; used the signature "2AMANTES", ( the two standing for 'dos' and Amantes meaning 'lovers').


https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG130894


Francisco Dosamantes

Francisco Dosamantes (b. October 4, 1911 - d. July 18.1986) was a Mexican artist and educator who is best known for is educational illustrations and graphic work against fascism. He was a founding member of the Taller de Gráfica Popular and the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Dosamantes


The Pinkowitz Gift Adds 300 Revolutionary Mexican Prints to the Met’s Collection
Many of the works in JoAnn Pinkowitz's collection are associated with the Mexican prints collective Taller de Gráfica Popular.

By Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly • 03/14/24 5:40pm

While volunteering at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts in 2009, JoAnn Pinkowitz was struck by the institution’s “Vida y Drama: Modern Mexican Prints,” an exhibition celebrating socially engaged printmakers like Diego Rivera, Leopoldo Méndez and Francisco Dosamantes.

https://observer.com/2024/03/met-gifted-300-revolutionary-mexican-prints-pinkowitz/

Lynda Carson may be reached at newzland2 [at] gmail.com

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by Lynda Carson
cesareo_moreno.jpg
Special thanks to Cesareo Moreno...

A special thanks to Cesareo Moreno, the Visual Arts Director / Chief Curator, of the National Museum of Mexican Art, in Chicago, for sending me an email reply earlier today.

Cesareo Moreno

Click below…

https://curatorsintl.org/about/collaborators/16225-cesreo-moreno

See email reply below...

-Lynda Carson
Oakland, CA

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From: Cesáreo Moreno

6:46 AM (14 hours ago)
to me (Lynda Carson)

Dear Lynda,

Thank you for sharing your TGP story. It's a shame that you could not keep all the prints you found, but there are many collectors who frequently find themselves in similar situations. I am glad you were able to keep a handful of these works on paper.

The signed prints are obviously worth more than the many unsigned versions that exist. The TGP printed hundreds of prints during their heyday as it was their way of contributing to the post-revolutionary, social educational movement of the time - as the muralists did also: "Art for the masses".

We have a list of appraisers on our website. Some of these may be helpful since museum employees are not able to share thoughts on market value, much less an appraisal - it is considered a conflict of interest.

I hope you continue to cherish your works of art for many years to come! Please care for them as they are important parts of Mexico's history. When the time comes for you to find them a new home, I hope you consider a museum where they will be properly cared for and shared with the public. This was the reason why they were created in the first place.

Best wishes,
Cesáreo Moreno
Visual Arts Director / Chief Curator
312.433.3915

National Museum of Mexican Art
1852 West 19th Street
Chicago, IL 60608

http://www.nationalmuseumofmexicanart.org

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by Lynda Carson
sm_mike.img_1137.jpg
Some Affordable Artwork...

I may not be able to afford the artwork of the Taller de Grafica Popular artists, but I can afford to do some of my own artwork. It's amazing what one can do with a blank piece of paper, and a pen.

-Lynda Carson

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by Lynda Carson
lynda__drawing_of_jimmy.april_2017.pdf_600_.jpg
Some More Affordable Artwork...

I may not be able to afford the artwork of the Taller de Grafica Popular artists, but I can afford to do some of my own artwork. It's amazing what one can do with a blank piece of paper, and a pen.

-Lynda Carson
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