They praise the alliance between INBAL and the Postal Service to promote O'Higgins' work.

Merry MacMasters

La Jornada Newspaper, Friday, July 25, 2025, p. 3

During the presentation of Pablo O'Higgins: Stamps of Life and Struggle, the catalogue of the exhibition mounted in 2022 at the Museo Nacional de la Estampa (Munae), the head of the Mexican Postal Service, Violeta Abreu, celebrated that this organization −where the event took place− had formed a strategic alliance with the institution affiliated with the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature (Inbal) to receive part of that exhibition, which was also mounted in Guanajuato.

We're making our debut as a permanent museum. This has always been a public space; however, it was previously accessible by appointment only. Since the change of administration, the Postal Palace has opened permanently , Abreu continued. In one month, the exhibition has received 9,500 visitors.

In 2021, the National Institute of Art (INBAL) acquired 112 prints by O'Higgins (1904-1983) housed at the Munae, as well as two oil paintings deposited at the Museo Nacional de Arte (MUNAE), thanks to the interest and generosity of his widow, María O'Higgins. These works were added to a collection made up of donations and acquisitions made since the 1950s. To date , at least 200 prints, mostly lithographs , by the American-born artist have been identified, although we know there are more , said Eduardo Espinosa Campos, curator of the exhibition.

For decades, this researcher from the National Center for Research, Documentation and Information on the Plastic Arts (Cenidiap) has been studying the Pablo and María O'Higgins Collection housed there.

In the Patio de Carteros, Espinosa Campos revealed: “Five months before her death, María de Jesús de la Fuente Casas, known as María O'Higgins, confided in me that she felt reassured that the National Institute of Fine Arts (INBAL) had acquired Pablo's work, as it would remain safe in its collection.”

According to the expert, within the painter's vast artistic output , his graphic work is as important as his easel and mural work. Other of his oldest known pieces are two engravings, one of which is on display in the exhibition. It dates from 1924, the year he arrived in Mexico .

Social commitment

O'Higgins lived through an important historical moment after the Mexican Revolution, a time when artists felt fully identified with workers and their labor demands . For Espinosa Campos, "Pablo's messages are clear; there are no hidden or half-baked signs, but direct ones. In his works, there is a voice that shouted loudly, very loudly, to make his personal position clear. His ideology is captured in the images of his works, in which he addressed uncomfortable topics for many six-year terms and which are only just beginning to be addressed."

"Themes related to social movements, the most basic rights, and labor protection for historically disadvantaged sectors. That's why we find that his work addresses extreme poverty, child labor, abandonment and unemployment in rural areas, as well as rural-urban migration. O'Higgins' work is always timely due to the relevance of his messages, which continue to challenge us as citizens to take a stand against the social and political reality, not only in Mexico but also internationally."

Maricela Pérez García, a librarian who works in the documentation area of Cenidiap, recalled that she met María O'Higgins on February 28, 1998 , at the invitation of Eduardo Espinosa , with the aim of collaborating in the organization of the collection that bears the couple's name. Through his life and work, Pablo tells us a part of the history of Mexico in the first half of the 20th century, the history of graphic art and its relationship with other artistic manifestations, and the social, political and cultural movements in which he participated .

For Pérez García, Pablo's artwork speaks to everyone and survives the era in which it was created; it remains relevant today. Delving into his work leads us to reflect on our social commitment and love for humanity .

At the event, moderated by Lilia Prado, curator at the Munae (National Institute of Natural Sciences), her colleague from the Munal (National Institute of Natural Sciences), David Caliz, emphasized the importance of publications as exhibition memoirs that leave a legacy of what is done in Inbal projects . He expressed his hope that the catalog would be "a window, a beacon, that would help young researchers discover new ways of shedding light on O'Higgins's work."

The Pablo O'Higgins: Images of Life and Struggle exhibition will remain open until August 31st at the Palacio Postal (Tacuba 1, Historic Center). Visiting hours are Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and admission is free.