This blog was submitted by our friends at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts.
Arriving in Paris in 1909, Diego Rivera joined the artistic scene just as Cubism and a number of other styles were emerging. It was during this time he departed from an academic, naturalist style and began experimenting with Cubist compositions inspired by the work of his friends Picasso, Cézanne, and Mondrian.
Rivera’s Cubist masterpiece, Dos Mujeres (Two Women), was created during Rivera’s Cubist period, depicting his common-law wife Angelia Beloof and their close friend Alma Dolores Bastián seated in their studio apartment overlooking the Montparnasse neighborhood of Paris.
It was entered in a 1914 exhibition of the Société des Artistes Indépendants in Paris and later purchased by Abigail “Abby” Greene Aldrich Rockefeller, wife of John D. Rockefeller.
Rivera’s first solo exhibition in the United States opened at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City on December 23, 1931. Dos Mujeres was on loan from Abby Rockefeller for the exhibition and remained in her personal collection until she gave it to her eldest child and only daughter, Abigail “Babs” Rockefeller Mauzé, who subsequently donated it to the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts in 1955.
That same year, Babs’ younger brother Winthrop Rockefeller became chairman of the newly established Arkansas Industrial Development Commission (AIDC). He had already relocated to Arkansas, purchased land on Petit Jean Mountain, and begun raising cattle at Winrock Farms.
Under his eight-year leadership, the AIDC helped 600 industries to locate to or expand in Arkansas, creating more than 100,000 job opportunities. Rockefeller clearly recognized that for Arkansas to be viewed as a progressive, economically advanced state, it also needed to provide quality educational and cultural opportunities to its citizens through the visual and performing arts.
The donation of Dos Mujeres — a historically and artistically important work in Rivera’s career — was both deliberate and impactful. It was the first truly modernist work of art to enter an Arkansas museum collection at a time when the state was rapidly evolving and growing with modern society.
Since then, several other members of the Rockefeller family have gifted artworks to the Museum, many of which are now foundational to the collection.
Dos Mujeres is on view now in AMFA’s blockbuster new exhibition Rivera’s Paris, an exploration of Diego Rivera’s years spent in Europe before he became the most influential Mexican painter of the 20th century.
You can experience the painting in person, alongside works by Rivera’s artistic mentors and contemporaries, while the exhibition is open at AMFA through May 18, 2025. Admission is always free.
Join us for a free lecture!
To learn more about the Rockefeller family’s legacy in Arkansas, we invite you to a free lecture given by Dr. John A. Kirk at the AMFA. Due to inclement weather, the original date was postponed. Please check this link for updates on the rescheduled event.