SIQUEIROS: A BIOGRAPHY.
White, D. Anthony. 1994 450+ pgs (pbk) ISBN: 0-915745-47-x Includes illus., index, English-Spanish glossary, photos, biblio. $54.95 Price for class use $26.95
Siqueiros was frequently embroiled in controversy and his life reads like a García Márquez' novel. Siqueiros was imprisoned 22 times, exiled and deported from Mexico, Spain, Argentina and the United States, subject to a nationwide manhunt and was banned from the United States from 1940 until his death. This is the first comprehensive, if not definitive, biography of the public life and works of world renowned Mexican Muralist, David Alfaro Siqueiros, (1896-1974), so far published in any language. Four-hundred fifty pages with 21 reproductions of his paintings, it describes his personal life, his art, his political involvements, his outspoken views on modern art, his contributions to modern plastic materials and techniques, in addition to his frequent deportations, exiles and incarcerations. Siqueiros was one of the founders of the Mexican mural movement and one of the great artists of this century. His art was linked to his politics, and he alternated artistic creativity with political action. This book documents extensively his rivalry with Diego Rivera and political conflicts with the Mexican Government. He painted murals in the United States that depicted the exploitation of Mexican labor, which were subsequently censored and destroyed. D. Anthony White certainly provides a powerful, complete and entertaining biography of a great artist, humanist and political rebel, whose legacy and influence endures.