This listing is for a rare original oil painting by Pablo O'Higgins. It is a Mexican landscape on canvas that is in a wooden frame and ready for hanging. The painting is hand signed in the lower right corner. There is an original paper label on the back from Galeria Arte De Coleccionistas that lists the title as 'Landscape'. We do not know the age of this painting. The frame measures about 17 3/4" x 24" inches. The painting is in very good overall condition with some cracking of the paint in a few places. The canvas is not stretched tight across the entire surface of the painting. In other words, there are two places where it can move in or out slightly. The frame itself has some scratches and dings. We have no reserve price, so don't miss your chance to add this piece to your collection!
Pablo Esteban O'Higgins (born Paul Higgins Stevenson; March 1, 1904 - July 16, 1983) was an American-Mexican artist, muralist and illustrator.
Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, O'Higgins was raised there and in San Diego, California. In 1922 he abandoned his first career as a pianist and entered the Academy of Arts in San Diego. Within two years he'd become a student of Diego Rivera, assisting Rivera on his murals at the National School of Agriculture at Chapingo, and the Public Education Secretariat.
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 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.
In 1961 O'Higgins was awarded honorary Mexican citizenship for "his contributions to the national arts and education". His mural work can be seen at the Abelardo L. Rodriguez Market, Mexico City, and his 1945 "Struggle Against Racial Discrimination" is installed in Kane Hall at the University of Washington in Seattle.