Steve "Pablo" Davis
| Steve "Pablo" Davis | |
|---|---|
| Born |
July 5, 1916 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Died | January 5, 2013 (aged 96) Rochester, Michigan |
| Occupation | Artist |
Steve "Pablo" Davis (born Paul Meier Klienbordt; July 7, 1916 – January 5, 2013) was an American artist, lifelong communist activist and Detroit community organizer. He was the last living member of the team of artists who worked with Diego Rivera on the Detroit Industry mural which is in the central courtyard, Rivera Court, of the Detroit Institute of Arts.
Davis was raised by his English father and Sephardic Spanish Jewish mother immigrant parents in Philadelphia. His mother had wanted to name him Pablo, his father wanted to name him after a recently deceased uncle in England, Percival. An elder sister explained the boy would be tormented at that time in this country if named Percival, so the parents compromised with "Paul"—or so his mother thought. He worked as a coal miner at age 14 until he became involved in a violent strike. When appearing before a judge for his riot involvement, "Paul" learned his father had secretly created his legal birth certificate with the name Percival. Obviously, not knowing it to be his name and resenting his father's deception, he never went by Percival. After this strike he saw an ad in the paper noting Diego Rivera was to begin work on a mural at the Detroit art museum. He rode the rails to Detroit for the purpose of meeting the artist. Upon arriving in Detroit, he asked train yard workers where the museum was, but none knew. When he found it, guards would not permit his entry but a woman came out as he sat on the front steps and said, "You look like you just lost your best friend." He explained his deep desire to meet the great artist, and as this woman was Frida Kahlo, she took him into the museum with her and introduced the two. Diego Rivera examined some of Pablo's artistry and allowed him to assist in the layering of Rivera's fresco mural still on view in the museum. Pablo lived with Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo for some months while in Detroit. When the Spanish Civil War broke, partially out of loyalty to his Spanish mother, he went to fight – not knowing this would later be considered a crime by his own country because America had not yet "officially" named fascism a crime. He served in the American volunteer Abraham Lincoln Brigade during the Spanish Civil War.
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