Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo in Detroit

With Detroit's recent financial crisis and apparent insolvency, the Detroit Art Institute seemed doomed to lose some of its important works to alleviate the city's credit problem. Among the most important collections, the works that the Mexican muralist Diego Rivera did for the city regained national attention because of the crisis. The focus of this exhibition catalogue is to bring to light Detroit Institute, the group of murals that he produced for this institution. The paintings highlight the achievements of the automobile industry as well as the successes and conditions of its working class. The book documents the trials and tribulations that Rivera and his wife, the painter Frida Kahlo, underwent in the production of these, not only in the preparations for the murals but also in their personal lives as they both developed work based on their experiences there. An excellent document of the works (and, in particular, the studies and techniques used for the murals), the patrons that commissioned them, and the historical and artistic context in which they took place, the book is richly illustrated and includes period photographs of the artists. Summing Up: Recommended. All readership levels. --Luis E. Carranza, Roger Williams University