Untitled (Church)

Martín Ramírez, Untitled (Church), ca. 1950, crayon, pencil, and watercolor on various joined papers, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.192
Martín Ramírez, Untitled (Church), ca. 1950, crayon, pencil, and watercolor on various joined papers, 31 3437 18 in. (80.894.2 cm) irregular, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson, 1986.65.192

Artwork Details

Title
Untitled (Church)
Date
ca. 1950
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
31 3437 18 in. (80.894.2 cm) irregular
Credit Line
Gift of Herbert Waide Hemphill, Jr. and museum purchase made possible by Ralph Cross Johnson
Mediums Description
crayon, pencil, and watercolor on various joined papers
Classifications
Subjects
  • Architecture Exterior — religious — church
  • Animal — donkey
Object Number
1986.65.192

Artwork Description

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

Works by this artist (4 items)

Charles White, The Children, 1950, ink and graphite on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Julie Seitzman and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2009.13
The Children
Date1950
ink and graphite on paper
Not on view
Charles White, Love Letter, 1971, color lithograph on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of June Wayne, 1991.179.14, © 1971, Heritage Gallery, Los Angeles
Love Letter
Date1971
color lithograph on paper
Not on view
Charles White, Love Letter, 1971, color lithograph on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of June Wayne, 1991.179.15, © 1971, Heritage Gallery, Los Angeles
Love Letter
Date1971
color lithograph on paper
Not on view
Charles White, Hasty B, 1970, lithograph on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1979.155.1
Hasty B
Date1970
lithograph on paper
Not on view

More Artworks from the Collection

Lee Godie, To the Dynamic Sarlo (Woman in Red with Decorated Hat), 1960s, oil and acrylic on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Chuck and Jan Rosenak and museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 1997.124.22
To the Dynamic Sarlo (Woman in Red with Decorated Hat)
Date1960s
oil and acrylic on canvas
Not on view
Barry Dalgleish, Interior with Trunk, 1984, acrylic and oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Sara Roby Foundation, 1986.84.2
Interior with Trunk
Date1984
acrylic and oil on canvas
Not on view
Stanley Edwards, Infant in Altar IV, 1965, oil and acrylic on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. David K. Anderson, Martha Jackson Memorial Collection, 1980.137.24
Infant in Altar IV
Date1965
oil and acrylic on canvas
Not on view