Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception

Martín Ramírez, Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, ca. 1953, crayon, pencil, and colored pencil on joined papers, 71 x 24 ¹⁄₈ in. (180.4 x 61.3 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.193

Artwork Details

Title: Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception
Artist: Martín Ramírez
Date: ca. 1953
Location: Not on view
Dimensions: 71 x 24 ¹⁄₈ in. (180.4 x 61.3 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums: pencil
crayon
Mediums Description: crayon, pencil, and colored pencil on joined papers
Classifications: Drawing
Subjects: Religion — New Testament — Mary
Animal — reptile — snake
Object Number: 1986.65.193
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/1986.65.193

Artwork Description

Martín Ramírez was among many Mexicans lured to America in the 1920s by the promise of work. He made the journey by train and worked on the railroads and in mines for some time. But, in 1931, he was detained for vagrancy and subsequently admitted to a psychiatric hospital, where he was diagnosed with schizophrenia. He spent the remaining thirty-two years of his life institutionalized. Around 1950, he began to draw images that combine memories of his homeland and his Catholic faith with highly abstracted forms, evoking a profound sense of displacement and loss.