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Front cover to 'Siqueiros 13 Grabados'

Author Preface by William Spratling American
1930
Not on view
In 1930 Siqueiros spent six months in Lecumberri prison in Mexico City after being arrested for his membership of the Communist Party, which had been outlawed in Mexico. During these months he made a series of thirteen woodcuts from small scraps of wood. They focus on social issues such as class and poverty. He was released from prison in 1931 but forced into exile in the town of Taxo, southwest of Mexico City. There he collated his woodcuts into a portfolio entitled Siqueros: 13 Grabados. The preface to the portfolio (in English and Spanish) was written by Willam Spratling, an American-born silver designer and artist. The titles of the prints are derived from a rare early set on off-white paper inscribed by the artist himself.

The present print of the woman holding a child is pasted to the cover that forms part of several pages. The verso of the last sheet contains information regarding this publication. This is number 33 in the edition of 100, all of which are numbered and signed by the artist. The intervening sheet with the Preface by William Spratling is mounted separately.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Front cover to 'Siqueiros 13 Grabados'
  • Artist: David Alfaro Siqueiros (Mexican, Camargo 1896–1974 Cuernevaca)
  • Author: Preface by William Spratling (American, Sonyea, New York 1900–1967 Taxco, Mexico)
  • Date: 1930
  • Medium: Woodcut on orange paper pasted to the cover
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 9 13/16 × 6 7/8 in. (25 × 17.5 cm)
    Image: 5 5/16 × 3 5/8 in. (13.5 × 9.2 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Gift of Jean Charlot, 1931
  • Object Number: 31.91.3(1)
  • Rights and Reproduction: © 2025 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Seated girl (Tehuantepec Bather), David Alfaro Siqueiros Mexican, Lithograph (offset)
Seated girl (Tehuantepec Bather)
David Alfaro Siqueiros
1931 (printed later)
Emilio Zapata on horseback, David Alfaro Siqueiros Mexican, Lithograph
Emilio Zapata on horseback
David Alfaro Siqueiros
1931
Head of a woman facing right
David Alfaro Siqueiros
ca. 1924
'One consequence', two men, possibly fighting, from the folio '13 Grabados', David Alfaro Siqueiros Mexican, Woodcut on orange paper
'One consequence', two men, possibly fighting, from the folio '13 Grabados'
David Alfaro Siqueiros
1930
'One recourse, prostitution', a woman and a young girl, from the folio '13 Grabados', David Alfaro Siqueiros Mexican, Woodcut on orange paper
'One recourse, prostitution', a woman and a young girl, from the folio '13 Grabados'
David Alfaro Siqueiros
1930

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