I Dreamed I Could Fly

Carlos Almaraz, I Dreamed I Could Fly, 1986, pastel on paper, 44 × 30 in. (111.8 × 76.2 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Margery and Maurice H. Katz, 2014.44, © 1986, Carlos Almaraz Estate

Artwork Details

Title: I Dreamed I Could Fly
Artist: Carlos Almaraz
Date: 1986
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 44 × 30 in. (111.8 × 76.2 cm)
Copyright: © 1986, Carlos Almaraz Estate
Credit Line: Gift of Margery and Maurice H. Katz
Mediums Description: pastel on paper
Classifications: Drawing
Subjects: State of being — phenomenon — dream
Object Number: 2014.44
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2014.44

Artwork Description

In the 1980s, Carlos Almaraz shifted from overtly political artwork to more private and spiritual themes. With paintings and pastels like I Dreamed I Could Fly, he developed a personal visual language of objects and animals, presented as narrative scenes, or, as in this case, a swirl of dreamlike remembrances. These elements, drawn from his daily life in Los Angeles and from childhood memories, often reference the Catholic traditions and indigenous folklore of Mexico. Throughout these intimate, psychological works and his earlier large-scale public murals, Almaraz's bicultural Mexican American identity was a powerful source of inspiration. He was a founding member of Los Four, an art collective created in 1973, that advocated for recognition of Chicano artists and for social justice causes, supporting the protests of Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, and the United Farm Workers union.