Bernard Lewin
Encyclopedia
Bernard Lewin was a German-born American citizen who amassed the largest private collection of modern Mexican art
in the world. Prior to his death in 2003, Lewin and his wife Edith donated more than 2,000 works of art to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
. Lewin was a personal friend of Rufino Tamayo
and David Alfaro Siqueiros
. Lewin's collection included the only portrait of Frida Kahlo
by Diego Rivera
that was not part of mural. Other works donated to the Los Angeles County Museum included Carlos Mérida
, José Clemente Orozco
, Rafael Coronel
, and Francisco Zúñiga
.
Mexican art
Mexican art consists of the various visual and plastic arts which developed over the geographical area now known as Mexico. The development of these arts roughly follow the history of Mexico, divided into the Mesoamerican era, the colonial period, with the period after the gaining of Independence...
in the world. Prior to his death in 2003, Lewin and his wife Edith donated more than 2,000 works of art to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is an art museum in Los Angeles, California. It is located on Wilshire Boulevard along Museum Row in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles, adjacent to the George C. Page Museum and La Brea Tar Pits....
. Lewin was a personal friend of Rufino Tamayo
Rufino Tamayo
Rufino Tamayo was a Mexican painter of Zapotec heritage, born in Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico. Tamayo was active in the mid-20th century in Mexico and New York, painting figurative abstraction with surrealist influences....
and David Alfaro Siqueiros
David Alfaro Siqueiros
José David Alfaro Siqueiros was a social realist painter, known for his large murals in fresco that helped establish the Mexican Mural Renaissance, together with works by Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco, and also a member of the Mexican Communist Party who participated in an...
. Lewin's collection included the only portrait of Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo de Rivera was a Mexican painter, born in Coyoacán, and perhaps best known for her self-portraits....
by Diego Rivera
Diego Rivera
Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez was a prominent Mexican painter born in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, an active communist, and husband of Frida Kahlo . His large wall works in fresco helped establish the Mexican Mural Movement in...
that was not part of mural. Other works donated to the Los Angeles County Museum included Carlos Mérida
Carlos Merida
Carlos Mérida was a Guatemalan artist.-Early life:Mérida was born in Guatemala City to a family from Quetzaltenango, boasting a Maya and Zapotec heritage which was often an inspiration in his art. He began studying music but became hearing-impaired due to illness. He then changed to the visual arts...
, José Clemente Orozco
José Clemente Orozco
José Clemente Orozco was a Mexican social realist painter, who specialized in bold murals that established the Mexican Mural Renaissance together with murals by Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and others...
, Rafael Coronel
Rafael Coronel
Rafael Coronel is a painter from Mexico. He was the son-in-law of Diego Rivera. His representational paintings have a melancholic sobriety, and include faces from the past great masters, often floating in a diffuse haze.There are some paintings of his own in Mexico and in other countries...
, and Francisco Zúñiga
Francisco Zúñiga
thumbJosé Jesús Francisco Zúñiga Chavarría was a Costa Rican and Mexican artist, known both for his painting and his sculpture...
.