Peter Rodríguez (1926 – 2016) was an American artist, curator, and museum director. He was the founder, director and curator of the
Mexican Museum in San Francisco, and a co-founder of the
Galería de la Raza.
Early life
Peter Rodríguez was born as a twin on June 25, 1926, in
Stockton Stockton may refer to:
Places Australia
* Stockton, New South Wales
* Stockton, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region
New Zealand
*Stockton, New Zealand
United Kingdom
*Stockton, Cheshire
*Stockton, Norfolk
*Stockton, Chirbu ...
,
California.
There were eleven children in his family, his twin brother is Tony.
He was the son of Jesús Rodríguez and Guadalupe García Rodríguez, immigrants from
Guadalajara
Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...
,
Mexico.
The family lived in
Fowler and
Jackson,
California.
He attended Oneida School (or Oneida School House) in Jackson Gate, California, which is where he started making art.
At a young age he took an interest in art and comics, and won awards.
When he was still young, he moved to San Francisco.
Early in his career he worked in the fashion industry and in advertising.
He was a self-taught artist, often using acrylics or oil paints.
Career
In the early 1960s, he was invited to show his work at Museo del Estado, Jalisco in Mexico and he took time to also visit Mexico City.
From 1968 to 1969, Rodríguez moved to the
Tlalpan
Tlalpan ( nci, Tlālpan, , place on the earth, ) is a borough (''demarcación territorial'') in Mexico City. It is the largest borough, with over eighty percent under conservation as forest and other ecologically sensitive area. The rest, almost ...
neighborhood of Mexico City, learning about culture and local arts.
By 1970, he moved to San Francisco.
That same year in 1970 he co-founded the
Galería de la Raza,
with
Chicano Movement artists
Ralph Maradiaga,
Rupert García,
Francisco X. Camplis
Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name '' Franciscus''.
Nicknames
In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father o ...
,
Gustavo Ramos Rivera,
Carlos Loarca
Carlos may refer to:
Places
;Canada
* Carlos, Alberta, a locality
;United States
* Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community
* Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County
* Carlos, Minnesota, a small city
* Carlos, West Virginia
;Elsewh ...
, Manuel Villamor, Robert Gonzales,
Luis Cervantes
Luis Roberto Cervantes Godínez (born 9 February 2001) is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a full-back for Liga MX
The Liga MX, officially known as the Liga BBVA MX for sponsorship reasons, is the top professional football divi ...
,
Chuy Campusano
Jesus "Chuy" Campusano (1944 – 1997), was an American Chicano visual artist, and muralist. He was a well-known contributor to San Francisco's arts in the 1970s and 1980s; and was a co-founder of Galería de la Raza, a non-profit community focuse ...
,
Rolando Castellón
Rolando Castellón, also known as Rolando Dionisio Castellón-Alegria (born 1937) is a Nicaraguan American painter, author, art historian, and curator. He was a well-known contributor to the arts of San Francisco, California and he has lived in C ...
, and
René Yañez.
in 1975, Rodríguez founded the Mexican Museum on Folsom Street in the Mission District, and served as the founding director and curator of the museum for 10 years.
The museum now holds a permanent collection of over 16,000 objects.
As the museum grew it needed to find a larger space, moving to Fort Mason and then to Yerba Buena Gardens, where a new space for a museum was being built and expected open in 2020 (however it's possibly delayed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic).
Death and legacy
He continued to paint into his 80s, even after moving into the Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center around 2012.
Rodriguez died on July 1, 2016, at the age of 90 at the Laguna Honda Hospital in San Francisco.
On July 19, 2016, Rodríguez's legacy was celebrated in San Francisco when they unveiled the cornerstone of the new museum, with
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...
and
Claudia Ruiz Massieu in attendance.
References
External links
Oral history interview with Peter Rodriguez, 2004 October 23-24 Archives of American Art,
Smithsonian InstitutionFinding Aid for the Peter Rodriguez Mexican Museum of San Francisco Papers 1975 - 2001 Online Archive of California (OAC)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodríguez, Peter
1926 births
2016 deaths
People from Stockton, California
Artists from San Francisco
Directors of museums in the United States
People from Jackson, California
American people of Mexican descent
Self-taught artists
Hispanic and Latino American artists