Object Details
- Artist
- Amalia Mesa-Bains, born Santa Clara, CA 1943
- Sitter
- Dolores del Rio
- Exhibition Label
- An Ofrenda for Dolores del Rio draws viewers in with its sumptuous pink fabric, rows of black-and-white pictures, and an arrangement of fanciful objects set in a niche. Mesa-Bains created this work to honor Dolores del Rio, the Mexican actress who dazzled audiences in the United States and Mexico from the 1920s until her death in 1983. The artist retooled the vernacular and domestic practice of the ofrenda (an offering to the deceased) to memorialize a cultural icon whom she and other Chicanas admired. Mesa-Bains implied this relationship through her ample use of mirrors, which reflect and incorporate the viewer into her installation.
- Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art, 2013
- Credit Line
- Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Smithsonian Institution Collections Acquisition Program
- Copyright
- © 1991, Amalia Mesa-Bains
- 1984, revised 1991
- Object number
- 1998.161
- Restrictions & Rights
- Usage conditions apply
- Type
- Sculpture
- Medium
- mixed media installation including plywood, mirrors, fabric, framed photographs, found objects, dried flowers and glitter
- Dimensions
- 96 x 72 x 48 in. (243.8 x 182.9 x 121.9 cm)
- See more items in
- Smithsonian American Art Museum Collection
- Department
- Painting and Sculpture
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Topic
- Architecture\religious\altar
- Portrait female
- Monument\memorial\del Rio
- Record ID
- saam_1998.161
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/vk734e7e48b-b996-4ff5-a85c-f38ab0c9b22b
