Skip to main content

Search

My Visit  Donate
Home Smithsonian Institution

Site Navigation

  • Visit
    • Hours and Locations
    • Entry and Guidelines
    • Mall Museum Map
    • Dining
    • Shopping
    • Accessibility
    • Group Visits
  • What's On
    • Exhibitions
      • Current Exhibitions
      • Upcoming
      • Past Exhibitions
      • Online Exhibitions
    • Today's Events
    • Online Events
    • All Events
    • IMAX & Planetarium
  • Explore
    • Art & Design
    • History & Culture
    • Science & Conservation
    • Collections
      • Open Access
      • Smithsonian Snapshot
    • Research Resources
      • Libraries
      • Archives
        • Smithsonian Institution Archives
        • Air and Space Museum
        • Anacostia Community Museum
        • American Art Museum
        • Archives of American Art
        • Archives of American Gardens
        • American History Museum
        • American Indian Museum
        • Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, African Art
        • Freer and Sackler Archives
        • Hirshhorn Archive
        • National Anthropological Archives
        • National Portrait Gallery
        • Ralph Rinzler Archives, Folklife
        • Libraries' Special Collections
    • Blogs
    • Podcasts
    • Mobile Apps
  • Learn
    • For Kids and Teens
    • For Educators
      • Resources
      • Field Trips
      • Professional Development
      • Events
    • Youth Programs
    • Fellowships and Internships
  • Get Involved
    • Volunteer
      • Behind-the-Scenes
      • Digital Volunteers
      • Smithsonian Call Center
      • Visitor Information Specialist
      • Docent Programs
    • Citizen Science
    • Work with Us
      • Office of Human Resources
        • Working Here
        • Employee Benefits
        • Job Opportunities
        • How to Apply
        • Job Seekers with Disabilities
        • Frequently Asked Questions
        • SI Civil Program
        • Contact Us
      • Affiliations
      • Global Partners
  • Support
    • About Membership
    • Become a Member
    • Renew Your Membership
    • Make a Gift
  • About
    • Museums and Zoo
    • Research Centers
    • Cultural Centers
    • Education
    • Our Organization
      • Leadership
        • Secretary Bunch
        • Advancement
        • Communications
        • Administration
        • Education
        • Museums and Culture
        • Science and Research
      • Board of Regents
        • Members
        • Committees
        • Reading Room
        • Bylaws, Policies and Procedures
        • Contact
        • Schedules and Agendas
        • Meeting Minutes
        • Actions
        • Webcasts
      • General Counsel
        • Legal History
        • Internships
        • Records Requests
          • Records Request Reading Room
        • Tort Claim
        • Subpoenas & Testimonies
        • Events
      • Equal Employment Office
        • EEO Complaint Process
        • Individuals with Disabilities
        • Special Emphasis Program
        • Supplier Diversity Program
          • Doing Business with Us
          • Policies and Procedures
          • Additional Resources
          • Goals and Accomplishments
      • Sponsored Projects
        • Policies
          • Animal Care and Use
          • Human Research
        • Reports
        • Internships
    • Reports and Plans
      • Annual Reports
      • Metrics Dashboard
        • Dashboard Home
        • Virtual Smithsonian
        • Public Engagement
        • National Collections
        • Research
        • People & Operations
        • One Smithsonian
      • Strategic Plan
    • Newsdesk
      • News Releases
      • Media Contacts
      • Photos and Video
      • Media Kits
      • Fact Sheets
      • Visitor Stats
      • Secretary and Admin Bios
      • Filming Requests

Adiós Espalda Mojada

National Museum of American History

Addthis Share Tools

    • Print

Object Details

printer
Kistler, Lynton R.
graphic artist
Barrios, B.
Description
For centuries in both Mexico and the United States, racism has organized society and regulated the work and aspirations of Europeans, Africans, Native peoples, and their mixed descendants. Though inhabiting segregated spaces, Mexican American communities expanded by the 1960s, stretching from the Yakima Valley of Washington to the Rio Grande Valley in Texas, and into the Midwest, particularly Chicago. The people living in these towns and cities represented a mix of multigenerational U.S. citizens, new residents, and temporary Mexican workers. While their experiences varied, all these communities were shaped by a legacy of discrimination in school, housing, and employment. Economic exploitation, in the form of race-based wages and substandard working conditions, particularly in fields, mines, and factories, were their daily realities. Despite the participation of Mexican American soldiers in all major U.S. conflicts since the Civil War, and the contribution of Mexican workers to the American agricultural and mining economy (and the vast economy of the West generally), the citizenship and human rights of their communities were contested and continue to be today. This lithograph, titled Goodbye Wetback, was designed by artist B. Barrios and printed by Lynton Kistler in 1951 in Los Angeles. It depicts a rural Mexican family confronting, with a mix of fear and stoicism, the racist encounter implied in the title. Kistler printed the work of many artists, some of whom specifically depicted Latino, Native American, and East Asian subjects. Over 2,700 of his prints are housed in the Graphic Arts Collection of the National Museum of American History.
Description (Spanish)
Durante siglos la ideología del racismo ha afectado la organización de la sociedad, regulando tanto el trabajo como las aspiraciones de europeos, africanos, pueblos nativos y sus descendencias mestizas. Pese a habitar en espacios segregados, en la década de 1960 las comunidades mexicoamericanas se expandieron, extendiéndose desde el Valle de Yakima en Washington hasta el Valle del Río Grande en Texas, adentrándose en el medio oeste, particularmente en Chicago. La gente que vivía en estos pueblos y ciudades constituía una mezcla de múltiples generaciones de ciudadanos estadounidenses, nuevos residentes y trabajadores mexicanos temporarios. Aunque sus experiencias eran variadas, todas estas comunidades sufrieron los efectos de un mismo legado de discriminación escolar, habitacional y laboral. La explotación económica, traducida en salarios basados en la raza y condiciones de vida por debajo de lo normal, particularmente en los campos, las minas y las fábricas, era para ellos una realidad diaria. Pese a que los soldados mexicoamericanos participaron en todos los conflictos importantes de Estados Unidos desde la Guerra Civil, y los trabajadores mexicanos aportaron una contribución fundamental a la economía agrícola y minera americana (y en general a la vasta economía del oeste), la ciudadanía y los derechos humanos de sus comunidades han sido combatidas y aún lo son. Esta litografía titulada Adiós Espalda Mojada, fue diseñada por el artista B. Barrios y grabada por Lynton Kistler en 1951 en Los Ángeles. Representa a una familia rural mexicana, transmitiendo una mezcla de miedo y estoicismo, con el conflicto racial implicado en el título. Kistler grabó las obras de una gran variedad de artistas, algunos de los cuales representaron específicamente a latinos, americanos nativos y temas del Asia Oriental. Más de 2.700 de sus grabados están alojados en la Colección de Artes Gráficas del Museo Nacional de Historia Americana.
Location
Currently not on view
Credit Line
Kistler Collection
1951
Associated Date
1951
ID Number
1978.0650.0968
accession number
1978.0650
catalog number
1978.0650.0968
78.0650.0968
Object Name
print
Object Type
Lithograph
Other Terms
print; Lithograph
Physical Description
paper (overall material)
ink (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 43 cm x 32.5 cm; 16 15/16 in x 12 13/16 in
place made
United States: California, Los Angeles
Mexico
See more items in
Work and Industry: Graphic Arts
Cultures & Communities
Mexican America
Art
Title
Good Bye Wetback
National Museum of American History
subject
Latino
Immigration
Prejudice
Record ID
nmah_800162
Metadata Usage (text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746a5-bb5b-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Related Content

  • Mexican America

    American History Museum
  • Mexican America:Untitled

    American History Museum
  • Mexican America:Untitled

    American History Museum
  • Mexican America:Untitled

    American History Museum
  • Mexican America:Untitled

    American History Museum
  • Mexican America:Untitled

    American History Museum
Goodbye Wetback
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
View manifest View in Mirador Viewer

Footer logo

Link to homepage

Footer navigation

  • Contact Us
  • Press Room
  • Human Resources
  • Host Your Event
  • Access Smithsonian
  • EEO & Supplier Diversity
  • Inspector General
  • Records Requests
  • Privacy
  • Terms of Use

Social media links

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Email signup form

Email powered by BlackBaud (Privacy Policy, Terms of Use)
Back to Top