Opera singer

Dora De Larios, Opera singer, ca. 1960, stoneware with glaze, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Forrest L. Merrill, 2021.98.1
Dora De Larios, Opera singer, ca. 1960, stoneware with glaze, 18 7815 788 58 in., Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Forrest L. Merrill, 2021.98.1

Artwork Details

Title
Opera singer
Date
ca. 1960
Dimensions
18 7815 788 58 in.
Credit Line
Gift of Forrest L. Merrill
Mediums
Mediums Description
stoneware with glaze
Subjects
  • Performing arts — opera
Object Number
2021.98.1

Artwork Description

Through this opera singer, Dora de Larios exclaims that she, too, is a great artist. This combination of subject and style challenges boundaries between “high” art like opera and “low” art like folk art ceramics. 


De Larios’s lifelong inspiration from Mesoamerican ceramics began when she was a young girl and encountered an Aztec calendar at an archaeological museum in Mexico City. She committed her artistic practice to emulating ancient Mexican motifs and stories, even as her peers in Los Angeles shattered craft’s connection to the past to define themselves in their field.


This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World, 2022

Works by this artist (1 item)

Ercole Barovier, Nicolo Barovier, Mosaic Glass Goblet, ca. 1914-1928, blown and hot-worked glass, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Gellatly, 1929.8.469.9
Mosaic Glass Goblet
Artist
attributed to Ercole Barovier
attributed to Nicolo Barovier
Dateca. 1914-1928
blown and hot-worked glass
Not on view

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Preston Singletary, Safe Journey, 2021, cast and sand-carved glass on wooden pedestal, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the James Renwick Alliance in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Renwick Gallery and the 40th anniversary of the alliance, and museum purchase through the Kenneth R. Trapp Acquisition Fund, 2021.82A-C, © 2021, Preston Singletary
Safe Journey
Date2021
cast and sand-carved glass on wooden pedestal
On view
Marvin Oliver, Salish Clam Basket, 2008, glass, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Sharon Karmazin, 2021.28
Salish Clam Basket
Date2008
glass
On view
Killer Whale Hat
Date2002
blown and sand carved glass
Not on view
Ché Rhodes, Untitled, 2007, glass, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Merrily Orsini and Frederick Heath, 2021.57A-D
Untitled
Date2007
glass
On view