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Mexican House

Artist/Maker (Mexican, 1883–1949)
Date1929
MediumOil on canvas
DimensionsOverall: 16 1/2 × 20 1/2 in. (41.9 × 52.1 cm)
Frame: 20 1/8 × 24 1/4 × 1 1/4 in. (51.1 × 61.6 × 3.2 cm)
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Malcolm L. McBride
Object number1943.273
Status
On view
Copyright© Estate of Jose Clemente Orozco / Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York, NYMore Information
The AMAM’s first painting by a Latin American artist, Orozco’s Mexican House depicts a square, mud-colored structure in a sparse landscape with an ink-black sky. In the left foreground, the spiny fronds of a maguey cactus, a traditional symbol of Mexico, lend specificity to the otherwise austere setting. Lacking any human presence but peopled by ambiguous geometric shapes, the composition evokes a sense of timelessness. Mexican House is typical of Orozco’s style of the 1920s and 30s, noted for its monumental forms and bleak overtones.
ProvenanceLucia McCurdy McBride [1880-1970], Cleveland, OH; by gift 1943 to Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH Exhibition History
Paintings and Drawings by J. C. Orozco
  • Art Students League, New York ( 1929 - 1929 )
J. C. Orozco
  • Civic Auditorium, La Porte, IN ( 1934 - 1934 )
Representing the Revolution: Works on Paper by Jose Clemente Orozco, Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siquieros
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (February 16, 1999 - March 30, 1999 )
Jose Clemente Orozco in the United States, 1927-1934
  • San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, CA (March 8, 2002 - May 19, 2002 )
  • Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH (June 8, 2002 - December 15, 2002 )
The Modern Landscape
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (September 4, 2007 - June 29, 2008 )
The Mexican Revolution in Prints and Paintings
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (September 9, 2008 - December 23, 2008 )
Latin American and Latino Art at the Allen
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (September 2, 2014 - June 28, 2015 )
Refiguring Modernism: A Fractured and Disorienting World
  • Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (July 5, 2023 - May 31, 2024 )
Collections
  • Modern & Contemporary
  • On View
The AMAM continually researches its collection and updates its records with new findings.
We welcome additional information and suggestions for improvement. Please email us at AMAMcurator@oberlin.edu.