Pablo Esteban O'Higgins (born Paul Higgins Stevenson; March 1, 1904 - July 16, 1983) was an American-Mexican artist, muralist and illustrator.
Early life and education
Born in
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...
, O'Higgins was raised there and in
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
.
In 1922 he abandoned his studies as a pianist and entered the Academy of Arts in San Diego.
Within two years he had become a student of
Diego Rivera, assisting Rivera on his murals at the National School of Agriculture at
Chapingo in Mexico, and the
Public Education Secretariat.
Mexico and murals
Like Rivera, O'Higgins became an active member of the
Mexican Communist Party.
He immigrated to Mexico permanently in 1924, joined the party in 1927,
and maintained his party membership until 1947.
His political illustrations for the ''
Daily Worker'' won him a year's study at the
Academy of Art in
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
on a Soviet Scholarship in 1933.
In 1937, O'Higgins was the co-founder, with fellow artists
Leopoldo Méndez and
Luis Arenal, of the
Taller de Gráfica Popular ("People's Graphic Workshop").
The Taller became inspiration to many politically active leftist artists; for example, American expressionist painter
Byron Randall went on to found similar artist collectives after becoming an associate member. In May 1940 O'Higgins had the honor of being the only non-native Mexican artist with work included in the seminal "Twenty Centuries of Mexican Art" exhibit organized by the
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...
.
In 1961 O'Higgins was awarded honorary Mexican citizenship for "his contributions to the national arts and education".
One of his murals can be seen at the
Abelardo L. Rodriguez Market, Mexico City.
His 1945 mural for the Ship Scalers Union Hall in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...
is installed in
Kane Hall at the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...
in Seattle.
The mural depicts Seattle's Ship Scalers Union's (SSU) history as a strongly anti-racist, anti-discriminatory, and progressive force in social politics.
Among O'Higgins' students was the American graphic designer
Bob Cato,
and artist and muralist
Marion Greenwood.
Further reading
* Acevedo, Esther. "Young Muralists at the
Abelardo L. Rodriguez Market." in ''Mexican Muralism: A Critical History'', Alejandro Anreus, Robin Adèle Greeley, and Leonard Folgarait. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press 2012, pp. 125–147.
* Espinosa Campos, Eduardo. "Pablo O'Higgins: arte mural para las escuelas". In ''La pintura mural en los centros de educación en México''. Pinacoteca 2003.é
* Flores, Laura. "Pablo O'Higgins: Pintura y Cambio Social." ''Metamórphosis, Northwest Chicano Magazine of Art and Literature''. IV no. 2, col. V no. 1 (1982/1983).ó
* Fundación Cultural María y Pablo O'Higgins. ''Pablo O'Higgins, Contruyendo vidas''. Mexico City 2005.
* Hijar, Alberto. ''Pablo O'Higgins: Apuntes y dibujos de trabajadores''. Monterrey: Secretaría de Educación y Cultura 1987.
*
Poniatowska, Elena and Gilbert Bosques. ''Pablo O'Higgins''. Mexico City: Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior 1984.
*
UNAM. ''Pablo O'Higgins: Voz de Lucha y Arte''. Mexico City: UNAM-Gobierno del Distrito Federal, Gobierno del Estado de Nuevo León, Fundación Cultural María y Pablo O'Higgins, A.C., 2005.
* Vogel, Susan. ''Becoming Pablo O'Higgins''. San Francisco and Salt Lake City: Pince-Nez Press 2010
References
External links
Works produced by Pablo O'Higgins at the Taller de Gráfica Popular- Gráfica Mexicana
{{DEFAULTSORT:OHiggins, Pablo
1904 births
1983 deaths
American communists
American emigrants to Mexico
American muralists
Naturalized citizens of Mexico
Mexican muralists
Mexican communists
Artists from Salt Lake City
Mexican people of Irish descent
San Diego High School alumni