Museo CYDT

Mexican Painters, 1940

Mexican Painters: Rivera, Orozco, Siqueiros, Cantu and Other Artists of the Social Realist School
MacKinley Helm is an author.

American writer and collector. Among his books is Mexican school of painting
Definitive introduction to the art and artists of Mexico during great artistic movements of the 20s and 30s. In-depth discussion of major figures—Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros — as well as 40 other artists: Guerrero Galvan, Federico Cantú, Guillermo Meza, Frida Kahlo , Maria Izquierdo , Chavez Morado more. Fascinating insights, political and social movements, historical context, etc. 95 illustrations.

MacKinley Helm (born 1896; died 1963) was an American writer and collector.
Among his friends during this period were Ines Amor, Alfred Barr, Henry Klifford, Federico Cantú, and William Spratling, which placed MacKinley Helm in a good position to write about these artists, and his book is now considered the best introduction to the art and artists of Mexico during the great artistic movements of the twenties and thirties.
Helm married Frances Lathrop Hammond (1894–1973)
Books
• 1936: After Pentecost: a history of Christian ideas and institutions from Peter and Paul to Ignatius of Antioch. New York: Harper
• 1941: Modern Mexican Painters. New York: Harper
• 1943: Story of Pipila
• 1942: Angel Mo' and her son, Roland Hayes. Boston: Little, Brown
• 1946: A Matter of Love, and other baroque tales of the provinces. New York: Harper
• 1948: John Marin. Boston: Pellegrini & Cudahy (reissued: New York: Kennedy; Da Capo Press, 1970)
• 1948: Journeying through Mexico. Boston: Little, Brown
• 1949: A Month of Sundays, and other baroque tales of the provinces. London: Harvill Press
• 1953: Spring in Spain. London: Gollancz
• 1953: Man of Fire; J. C. Orozco: an interpretative memoir. Boston: Institute of Contemporary Art
• 1956: Fray Junipero Serra: the great walker. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press (play)

MacKinley Helm , Frances Helm , Gloria Calero de Cantú , Federico Cantú
San Miguel Allende 1943

Modern Mexican Artists 1937

Frances Toor (1890–1956) was an American author, publisher, anthropologist and ethnographer who wrote mainly about Mexico and Mexican indigenous cultures She earned a B.A. and an M.A. in anthropology from University of California at Berkeley. She moved to Mexico City in 1922. In 1925, she founded the journal Mexican Folkways (published until 1937)

Carlos Mérida (December 2, 1891 – December 21, 1985) was a Guatemalan artist who was one of the first to fuse European modern painting to Latin American themes, especially those related to Guatemala and Mexico. He was part of the Mexican muralism movement in subject matter but less so in style, favoring a non-figurative and later geometric style rather than a figurative, narrative style. Mérida is best known for canvas and mural work, the latter including elements such as glass and ceramic mosaic on major constructions in the 1950s and 1960s. One of his major works, 4000m2 on the Benito Juarez housing complex,
Mérida’s art career began when he was still a teenager. His family’s move back to Guatemala City put him in touch with various artists and intellectuals. At age nineteen, he approached Catalan artist and writer Jaime Sabartés, who helped Mérida organize his first individual exhibition at the offices of the El Economista newspaper in Guatemala City in 1910
As there was little opportunity for artists in Guatemala, in 1910, Mérida traveled to Paris with a friend named Carlos Valenti on a German cargo ship.From then until 1914, he lived and worked in Paris and traveled much of Europe. This put him in touch with European avant garde artists such as Van Dagen, Amedeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso and Piet Mondrian as well as Latin American artists studying in Europe such as Diego Rivera, Jorge Enciso, Ángel Zárraga and Dr. AtlHe exhibited his work in venues such as the Independent Salon and the Giroux Gallery in Paris.For unknown reasons, his traveling companion committed suicide in his studio, which affected Mérida deeply and temporarily losing interest in art. He was helped in overcoming this by Roberto Montenegro


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CYDT Collection