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Modotti, Tina
American (b. Italy, 1896-1942)

TITLE ON OBJECT: A proud little agrarista or better son of one
PUBLISHED TITLE: Muchacho with Sombrero

ca. 1927
gelatin silver print
9.1 x 6.7 cm.
Museum Collection
GEH NEG: 23286
74:0061:0175

Constantine, Mildred. --Tina Modotti: A Fragile Life.-- New York: Rizzoli International Publications, Inc., 1983. p. 133.//

EXHIBITION HISTORY:
"Modernists in New Mexico", US, CT, Stamford September 27 - December 27, 1996.//
"Modotti and Weston: Mexicanidad", US, NY, Rochester February 15 - May 4, 1997.//

INSCRIPTION: verso-(in ink) "A proud little agrarista or better son of one-" (rubberstamp) "Edward Weston Collection"

NOTES: Catalogued 10/87, DZ. Title from --Tina Modotti: A Fragile Life--. "By 1927, Modotti's photography had become vitalized by the political and social messages she sought to portray. This image of a child, a member of Mexico's peasant class, underscores her efforts to use the camera as a tool for change. Inscribing on the back of the photograph - 'A proud agrarista or better, son of one' - Modotti exhalts in the dignified pose of the child, severely cropping the photograph to suggest a quality of upright rectitude. In Modotti's hands, portraits such as this become bold symbols of the revolutionary fight against inequality. To this end, this photograph was printed as covers for two important publications in 1928, --CROM--, a Mexican labor magazine, and --AIZ (Workers Ilustrated News)--, the widely- circulated German picture magazine that advocated for the rights of the working class." [Therese Mulligan, 1/97]

SUBJECT: portrait, boy

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