U.S. Artists' Response to Mexican Muralists Explored in Chicago Exhibition

From February 12 to August 1, 2010, the National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago presented 'Translating Revolution: U.S. Artists Interpret Mexican Muralists' at 1852 West 19th Street. The exhibition examined how Mexican muralists José Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Diego Rivera influenced American artists during the 1930s, particularly through Works Progress Administration projects. Their focus on political struggle and social themes resonated during the Great Depression. Orozco's expressionist fury and Siqueiros's Futurist intensity inspired works like Edward Millman's 'Detail Fresco, St. Louis, MO Post Office' (1942), which echoes Orozco's symbolic hand gestures. Jackson Pollock's early paintings 'Untitled (Bald Woman with Skeleton)' (1938-41) and 'Untitled (Composition with Ritual Scene)' (1938-41) show direct connections to Mexican muralism, influenced by Siqueiros's 1936 workshop and Orozco's 'Prometheus' mural at Pomona College. Charles Wilbert White's 'A Man to Remember' (1939) demonstrates populist sympathy, while Philip Stein's 'Battered' (1983) employs Futurist geometric divisions. The exhibition also featured works by Ben Shahn, Tina Modotti, Pablo O'Higgins, Elizabeth Catlett, and Eleanor Cohen, though contemporary pieces in the final room diverged from the muralists' urgent style. The show highlighted how these Mexican artists challenged American painters to engage with social realities.