Elena Huerta Muzquiz
| Elena Huerta Muzquiz | |
|---|---|
| Born |
July 15, 1908 Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico |
| Died | 1997 (aged 88-89) |
| Nationality | Mexican |
| Movement | Mexican muralism |
Elena Huerta Múzquiz (b. July 15, 1908 – d. 1997) was a Mexican artist best known for her mural work in her hometown of Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico. Most of her art career was dedicated to teaching, but she was one of the founders of the Compañía de Teatro Infantil with German Cueto, Lola Cueto, Angelina Beloff and Leopoldo Méndez, the Liga de Escritores y Artistas Revolucionarios and a founding member of the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana. She created three mural projects in Saltillo, with the last done when she was 65 years of age, a work over 450m², the largest mural work created by a woman in Mexico.
The artist was born in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico into a powerful, traditional family with the name of Elena Enriqueta Huerta Muzquiz. Her father, Adolfo Huerta Vargas and her maternal grandfather, José María Múzquiz, were governors of the state of Coahuila from the late 19th into early 20th centuries.
Nicknamed La Nena Huerta (The Huerta Girl), her artistic talents appeared in childhood. However, her father’s death adversely affected the family’s economic situation, and she had to work various jobs, such as telephone operator, to live and pay for her art education. Huerta began this education in late 1920s, obtaining certification as a drawing teacher in her first year. Most of her formal art education was at the Saltillo Art Academy from the late 1920s to early 1930s, under Rubén Herrera. Herrera was a prominent artist and educator who has studied and worked in Italy until Mexican president Venustiano Carranza asked him to return to Mexico. Here Ruben founded and nurtured a movement called the Corriente Pictórica de Saltillo, of which Huerta would become be best known artist. Soon after finishing her studies in Saltillo, she moved to Mexico City, where she took a number of courses in painting and sculpture at the Academy of San Carlos. Huerta came of age during the time of the Mexican muralism movement. She was on good terms with painter Diego Rivera and became part of David Siqueiros’ family by marrying the brother of Siqueiros’ wife, who Huerta knew through her own family as well as through the Mexican Communist Party. The couple had three children, one boy and two girls.
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