Rivera and the Rockefellers

Diego Rivera: Murals for the Museum of Modern Art
November 13, 2011–May 14, 2012

Filmed by Lost and Found Films

Abby Aldrich Rockefeller played a pivotal role in bringing Rivera to New York City in 1931 for his exhibition at The Museum of Modern Art, but by mid-1933 the controversy over his mural in Rockefeller Center's RCA building had taken its toll on the artist's relationship with the Rockefeller family. This interview with David Rockefeller, Sr. and the historian Peter J. Johnson focuses on the artist's interactions with the family, offering new insights into one of the most intriguing artist-patron partnerships of the 20th century.

Installation photos of the exhibition by Robert Kastler, Department of Imaging, The Museum of Modern Art. Telegram from Diego Rivera to his assistant Clifford Wight. October 26, 1931. Clifford Wight Collection relating to Diego Rivera, Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Library. Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo in San Francisco. c. 1930. Photograph by Peter A. Juley & Son. Peter A. Juley & Son Collection, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. Diego Rivera. Pneumatic Drill (cartoon for Pneumatic Drilling). 1931. Charcoal on paper. 97 1/4 x 76 7/8" (247 x 195.2 cm). Museo Dolores Olmedo, Xochimilco, Mexico. © 2012 Banco de México Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, México, D.F./Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Diego Rivera. Frozen Assets. Fresco on reinforced cement in a galvanized-steel framework, 94 1/8 x 74 3/16" (239 x 188.5 cm). Museo Dolores Olmedo, Xochimilco, Mexico. © 2012 Banco de México Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, México, D.F./Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. The excavation stage of Rockefeller Center's construction. 1932. Photograph by the New York Daily News, courtesy of New York Daily News via Getty Images. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. at The Casements, Ormond Beach, Florida. April 5, 1925. Photographer unknown. Rockefeller Family Archives. Courtesy Rockefeller Archive Center. Diego Rivera. Preliminary design for Man at the Crossroads. 1932. Pencil on paper, 31 x 71 1/4" (78.7 x 180.8 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Given Anonymously. © 2012 Banco de México Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, México, D.F./Artists Rights Society (ARS) Photography by Peter Stackpole. Courtesy Getty Images. Rivera's Man at the Crossroads covered with canvas. May 1933. RCA building, Rockefeller Center, New York. Photograph by Lucienne Bloch, courtesy of Old State Studios, Gualala, California. Diego Rivera. Man Controller of the Universe or Man in the Time Machine. 1934. Fresco, approx. 15' 10 7/8" x 37' 6 7/8" (4.85 x 11.45 m). Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City. © 2012 Banco de México Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, México, D.F./Artists Rights Society (ARS). Demonstration at Rockefeller Center in protest of Rivera's dismissal from the mural commission. May 18, 1933. Photograph by New York Daily News, courtesy of New York Daily News via Getty Images. Rivera's fresco, Man at the Crossroads, in progress. May 1933. RCA building, Rockefeller Center, New York. Photograph by Lucienne Bloch, courtesy of Old State Studios, Gualala, California. Diego Rivera. Agrarian Leader Zapata. Fresco on reinforced cement in a galvanized-steel framework, 93 3/4 x 74" (238.1 x 188 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Fund. © 2011 Banco de México Diego Rivera & Frida Kahlo Museums Trust, México, D.F./Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.