September 13–December 14, 2025
Alfredo Ramos Martínez, “El Defensor/The Protector,” c. 1932. Conté crayon and tempera on newsprint (Los Angeles Times, June 5, 1932). Private collection, Los Angeles. © The Alfredo Ramos Martínez Research Project, courtesy of Louis Stern Fine Arts.
Acclaimed Mexican modernist Alfredo Ramos Martínez has typically been viewed as apolitical. In this groundbreaking reappraisal, more than 25 mural studies, drawings, and paintings by Ramos Martínez—most never or rarely exhibited—shed new light on his vision and demonstrate his engagement with labor, revolution, Indigenous identity, and war in early twentieth-century Mexico and Los Angeles. The exhibition takes its title from an early description of Ramos Martínez as “one of those who paints poems,” calling attention to what has been overlooked in his work and the systems that shaped it.
“This remarkable collection of artworks suggests an artistic practice far more engaged with politics and current events than previously understood,” says guest curator, Scripps alumna, and Director of Louis Stern Fine Arts Robin Dubin. “In conversation with less familiar and frequently confounding bodies of the artist’s work, they offer significant contextual insight into Ramos Martínez’s artistic production in the United States.”
Alfredo Ramos Martínez (1871–1946) has long been recognized as a key figure in Mexican modernism. After serving as director of the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, where he innovated open-air painting schools and influenced a generation of muralists, Ramos Martínez relocated to Los Angeles in 1930. There, he created private commissions and public artworks, including Las Vendedoras de Flores (The Flower Vendors) in Scripps College’s Margaret Fowler Memorial Garden in 1946, a mural left unfinished at the time of his death.
“Timed ahead of the 80th anniversary of Las Vendedoras de Flores (The Flower Vendors),” the exhibition offers an opportunity to reflect on its significance anew,” notes Dr. Erin M. Curtis, Gabrielle Jungels-Winkler Director of the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery. “The exhibition presents studies for the mural alongside other rarely shown works that foreground struggle, resistance and the lived experiences of Indigenous people, inviting a reconsideration of this beloved campus fresco and its portrayal of women’s labor as well as the artist himself.”
Publication
The exhibition is accompanied by a richly illustrated publication featuring essays by Dubin; Rosalía Romero, assistant professor of art history at Pomona College; and Armando Pulido, assistant curator of special projects at the Huntington; as well as a foreword by Curtis and a timeline of the Scripps mural, Las Vendedoras de Flores (The Flower Vendors).
Programs
Join the Williamson Gallery for these free, public events presented in conjunction with Pintor de Poemas:
Opening Reception
Saturday, September 13, 2025 | 7–9 PM
Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery
Celebrate the opening of Pintor de Poemas: Unseen Works by Alfredo Ramos Martínez with an evening of art and refreshments as well as classic boleros, rancheras, and more from LA-based trío romántico Voz Bohemia. Be among the first to experience this revelatory exhibition and gather in community to honor the complex legacy of the acclaimed artist whose work is etched into the heart of the Scripps College campus.
Modeling the Photoreduction of a Chromium (VI) Pigment in Alfredo Ramos Martínez’s The Flower Vendors
Wednesday, October 1, 2025 | 12–1 PM
Hampton Dining Room (above Malott Commons)
With an introduction by Professor of Chemistry Nancy Williams, Scripps alumna and art conservation major Gillian Holzer ‘19 will discuss her thesis work on Las Vendedoras de Flores (The Flower Vendors) fresco in the Margaret Fowler Memorial Garden. It’s difficult to use chrome yellow, a favorite color of the Impressionists, in traditional fresco because the alkalinity causes the chrome yellow to turn brown. Gillian posited that Ramos Martínez used a wax emulsion to prevent the browning of the yellow color. Her thesis experiment shows that the wax binder Ramos Martinez created yields a more stable chrome yellow than the long chain fatty acids, like linseed oil, used by Impressionists. Holzer’s work is mentioned in the exhibition catalog for Pintor de Poemas: Unseen Works by Alfredo Ramos Martínez. This program is supported by the Scripps Presents STEM @Noon series, spotlighting Scripps alums.
Urban Labor in Alfredo Ramos Martínez’s 1932 Mural Sketches
Tuesday, October 14, 2025 | 2 PM
Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery and Margaret Fowler Memorial Garden
Join Rosalía Romero, Assistant Professor of Art History at Pomona College, for a talk on four recently discovered drawings by Alfredo Ramos Martínez featured in Pintor de Poemas: Unseen Works by Alfredo Ramos Martínez. Dr. Romero will explore how these works reveal another side of Ramos Martínez, whose California-era works are often linked with art deco style and pastoral themes. These works reveal his experimentations with the Mexican avant-garde movement Estridentismo and reflect a broader shift in Mexican art from images of rural labor to depictions of industrial workers. They also demonstrate the artist’s efforts to challenge expectations of his own practice.
Following the program, guests are invited to view the exhibition and enjoy tea in the Margaret Fowler Memorial Garden, the site of Martinez’s final mural, Las Vendedoras de Flores (The Flower Vendors). Presented in partnership with the Scripps Fine Arts Foundation.
Música, Muralista, Altarista! Remembering Alfredo Ramos Martinez
Thursday, October 23 | 6–9 PM
Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery and Margaret Fowler Memorial Garden
Honor the legacy of painter and muralist Alfredo Ramos Martínez and the stories of people in struggle, through art, music, and community. The evening will begin in the Williamson Gallery with a short performance by the critically acclaimed mariachi group The Mata Family. A lively musical procession will then lead guests to the Margaret Fowler Memorial Garden—home to Ramos Martínez’s final mural Las Vendedoras de Flores (The Flower Vendors)—for the dedication of an altar by installation artists Doña Ofelia Esparza and Rosanna Ahrens Esparza. The celebration will conclude with a concert by members of the Grammy Award–winning band Quetzal and a spirited fandango. Bring your dancing shoes and your love of music and art!
Organized by Associate Professor and Chair of the Intercollegiate Department of Chicanx/Latinx Studies Martha Gonzalez, the Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery, and Scripps Events.
Donor Support
Pintor de Poemas: Unseen Works by Alfredo Ramos Martínez, its companion publication, and related programs have been made possible through the generous support of:
The Jean and Arthur Ames Art Fund
The Mary Davis MacNaughton Endowment
The Scripps Fine Arts Foundation
Benjamin Moore & Co. and Catalina Paints
Martha Gonzalez, PhD, Associate Professor of Chicanx-Latinx Studies; Chair, Intercollegiate Dept. of Chicana/o-Latina/o Studies
Scripps Presents
The Verna Clark Davis Fund
Chicano Latino Student Affairs (CLSA)