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And the Wall …

came tumbling down!

On this day in 1989, the Berlin Wall, a symbol of the Cold War, was officially opened. Built during the height of U.S.-Soviet tensions in the 1960s, the twenty-seven mile wall divided the city of Berlin between East Germany, aligned with the Soviet Union, and West Germany, aligned with Western Europe and the United States. Pro-democracy demonstrations in East Berlin led to the wall's demise, which began the process of German reunification.

Walls are a familiar symbol in biblical stories and art as well. In today's example, a wall separates two workers who strain to haul their burdens in opposite directions. A laborer himself, artist Patrociño Barela would have appreciated the work required to build the legendary temple of Solomon, the king of ancient Israel renowned for uniting opposing factions into a single, peaceful kingdom. Barela created this sculpture for the New Mexico branch of the Federal Art Project, a government program that provided work for unemployed artists during the Depression of the 1930s.

Source: Virginia Mecklenburg. Arte Latino: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum (exhibition text, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 1999).

Pictured: Patrociño Barela, 1908–1964, Man in the Time of Solomon, about 1935–1943, carved juniper, 18 1/4 x 11 x 8 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the General Services Administration.