Picturing Mexico: Alfredo Ramos Martínez marks the first comprehensive examination of the artist’s work produced from 1929 to 1946. An artist of great significance, Ramos Martínez (1871–1946) developed his own distinctive contribution to modernism. This exhibition explores Ramos Martínez’s work through four sections—Many Women, Religious Piety, Los Angeles Stories, and Forever Mexico—and how he produced an individual response to Mexico from Los Angeles.
The study of Ramos Martínez’s work in Los Angeles provides a greater understanding of the myriad cultural contributions of artists living in the city during the first half of the twentieth century. While many scholars have studied the influence of Rivera, Orozco, and Siqueiros in the United States, this exhibition breaks new ground by further developing research on the presence of other influential Mexican artists in Los Angeles. This exhibition also offers visitors an opportunity to understand the constant cultural exchange between the United States and Mexico in new ways.