Manuel Alvarez Bravo: Photographs from the Speed Art Museum Collection

Manuel Álvarez Bravo was the leading photographer working in Mexico during the twentieth century. His early works reveal the influence of Modernism, but he quickly developed a distinctive vision deeply rooted in his native Mexican culture and identity. Like Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, Álvarez Bravo flourished during the artistic and cultural renaissance that emerged following the Mexican Revolution of 1910 – 1921. Whether documenting the urban landscape of Mexico City or capturing imagery evoking indigenous traditions, his photographs capture a timelessness infused with overtones of mysticism, metaphor, and poetry.

Álvarez Bravo was largely self-taught, absorbing lessons from images found in photography magazines and under the influence of international photographers Tina Modotti and Edward Weston, who traveled to Mexico during the 1920s. Álvarez Bravo exhibited alongside Henri Cartier-Bresson and Walker Evans in New York in 1935, and his work was featured in a 1940 Surrealist exhibition organized by André Breton in Mexico City. Although Álvarez Bravo never considered himself a Surrealist, his enigmatic titles and symbolic content often defy literal representation or straightforward interpretation.

The presentation of Manuel Álvarez Bravo: Photographs from the Collection of the Speed Art Museum will coincide with National Hispanic American Heritage Month and the 2025 Louisville Photo Biennial, a regionwide celebration of photography. This presentation is curated by Kim Spence, curator of works on paper.