Braceros

Object Details

Date
1960
Artist
Domingo Ulloa, born Pomona, CA 1919-died El Centro, CA 1997
Gallery Label
Domingo Ulloa painted this canvas after several visits to a Bracero camp in Holtville, California. The Bracero Program (1942-64) was a bi-national effort that brought Mexican guest workers, known as braceros, to fill in agricultural labor shortages caused by World War II. Ulloa's crowd of workers, who peer dejectedly through a barbed-wire fence, reinforce the mounting public protest against their poor living and working conditions. His composition recalls photographs of concentration camp inmates, which Ulloa--a World War II veteran--was familiar with. Ulloa later stated, "Most of my paintings are inspired by the common people in their work, in their joy, and their struggle."
Topic
Figure group\male
Mexican
Occupation\labor
Dress\accessory\hat
Architecture Exterior\detail\fence
See more items in
Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
Department
Painting and Sculpture
On View
Smithsonian American Art Museum, 1st Floor, South Wing
Credit Line
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Eugene Iredale and Julia Yoo
Data Source
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Object number
2014.20
Type
Painting
Restrictions & Rights
Usage conditions apply
Medium
oil on masonite
Dimensions
36 × 49 in. (91.4 × 124.5 cm)
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk740904349-fee9-4173-84e5-fe17d16b6d18
Record ID
saam_2014.20