David Alfaro Siquieros (1896-1974) - Portrait of Lois Richards, Pyroxilin Painting

David Alfaro Siquieros (1896, Chihuahua - 1974, Cuernavaca) was a Mexican social realist painter, known as one of the "tres grandes", alongside muralists Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco. He was only a teenager when the Mexican Revolution began, which inspired him to rebel against the Academia de San Carlos' school director. Siquieros would join the Mexican revolutionary army five years later, then would travel to Europe after the war. This is where he would meet Diego Rivera in Paris. After studying in France, Spain and Italy, he would return to Mexico in 1922, when education minister Jose Vasconcelos would ask him to help promote the Mexican mural movement. During this time in Mexico, he would serve jail time in 1930. During his travels to the United States and Latin America, he would master the art of outdoor murals. The first mural he painted in the Unites States was a statement piece depicting black and white workers together, which received racist backlash and was painted over. He was commissioned to paint another mural in Los Angeles, which was requested to be a scene of lush plants and animals. Siquieros took the opportunity to paint a statement about American imperialism, which depicted an indigenous Latin American crucified with a bald eagle looming over him. His visa renewal was denied after painting the mural, so he traveled to Uruguay and other parts of Latin America. Then in 1936, he returned to the United States without a visa, and held a workshop in New York City with other artists including Jackson Pollock, to experiment using different materials and techniques. Around 1940, he took part in the Spanish Civil War and also participated in an unsuccessful plot to assassinate Russian revolutionist Leon Trotsky, who was living in Mexico City. Siquieros was put on trial for the crime, but wasn't charged for it. Instead he was exiled to Chile and was on a watchlist by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies due to being a committed Stalinist. Despite the attention, he continued to paint and support other political causes. Siquieros tried to keep the Mexican mural movement alive, although interest had faded by the end of the 1960s.