The Subway

José Clemente Orozco was a Mexican painter specializing in political murals that established the Mexican Mural Renaissance alongside murals by Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and others. Orozco was the most complex of the Mexican muralists, fond of the theme of human suffering, but less realistic and more fascinated by machines than Rivera. Mostly influenced by Symbolism, he was also a genre painter and lithographer. Between 1922 and 1948, Orozco painted murals in Mexico City; Orizaba; Claremont, California; New York City; Hanover, New Hampshire; Guadalajara, Jalisco; and Jiquilpan, Michoacán.

During his second stay in New York, Orozco created numerous works exploring the city’s rapid urban growth and complex social fabric. The Subway portrays a group of commuters aboard the city’s iconic public transit system, which began operating in 1904. The somber, expressionless faces of the passengers cast a melancholic tone over the scene, heightened by the stark contrast with the gleaming metal poles of the train. Although Orozco was already a celebrated figure in Mexico, he faced challenges gaining recognition in New York, even after exhibiting in local galleries and completing a five-panel mural series at the New School in 1931.

P.S. Orozco wasn't the only artist inspired by New York's subway. Discover Lily Furedi's subway masterpiece!