RE-DISCOVERED MASTERPIECE BY DIEGO RIVERA

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, has acquired a major, rediscovered painting by the great Mexican muralist Diego Rivera (1886–1957). The 1928 painting “La Bordadora” (The Embroiderer) had been in the collection of a New Orleans family since they acquired it, shortly after the work was completed. It has not previously been on public view.                                                                                                                    Rivera had gone to the region of Tehuantepec, near Oaxaca, Mexico, in 1923, and there discovered the vibrant, indigenous culture of Mexico, with its traditions passed down by women through generations. He created drawings as well as a few paintings of weavers and artisans. La Bordadora depicts two women in an abstracted interior at a table, with the woman in the foreground working on an embroidery panel.

PHOTO Diego Rivera, La Bordadora, 1928, oil on canvas. © 2022 Christie’s Images Limited