Art: Paint & Pistols

Last week David Alfaro Siqueiros was the most important man in Mexico City. When his first big exhibition of paintings since 1931 opened in the Bellas Artes gallery, crowds blocked the streets waiting to get in. Thirty minutes after the doors opened, they were closed again, to save those inside from being trampled in the rush. The critics' reaction to the show was unanimous—a prolonged huzza-hosannah. "Only those bound up in iron prejudices," said the newspaper Excelsior, "could fail to appreciate the work of this genius."

Eggs for the Teacher. Whether or not more...

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