In 1923, María Izquierdo moved with her family to Mexico City, where she was inspired by the region’s artistic culture. There, she studied with prominent Mexican artists Diego Rivera and Rufino Tamayo, who strove to harness the political ideals of the Mexican Revolution (1910–20) in their murals. Although Izquierdo shared Rivera and Tamayo’s core values, she sought to implement them in a more universal language that was less propagandistic, often reinterpreting Mexican folklore and traditions in a primitive style and bright color palette. Art became an essential means of personal communication for the artist. One of her favorite subjects was the circus, which is the main theme of Horse Actors. Izquierdo often went to performances with her aunt and grandmother as a young girl, and such images reminded her of them.

Label from Menagerie: Animals on View, March 11–June 4, 2017