Art History Professor David Craven recently donated a photo (left) to the collections at the Center for Southwest Research of Nicaraguan guerrilla leader Augusto César Sandino. The donation came in conjunction with the department of Art and Art History and the Latin American and Iberian Institute honoring the remarkable career of Dr. Russ Davidson, the former head of Latin American Acquisitions at Zimmerman Library.
The photograph, taken in 1934, was shot shortly before Sandino’s assassination. Craven says Sandino is one of the most legendary figures in 20th century Nicaraguan history.
The revolutionary Sandinista movement fro the 1970s and 80s took its name from Sandino, who had been an outspoken opponent of social inequalities, and supported radical change in the political system of the country. Sandino organized a peasant army in the late 1920s to combat foreign military intervention on behalf of the conservative government.
“We would like to thank Professor Craven, the Department of Art and Art History and the Latin American and Iberian Institute for this valuable addition to our collection,” said Center for Southwest Research Director Michael Kelly. “Russ Davidson would have been thrilled to have it in the collection and we are very pleased to accept it.”
Yale University Press published Craven’s most recent book, “Art and Revolution in Latin America, 1910-1990,” in 2002. In it, he discusses Sandino’s iconic status in the visual arts of Nicaragua.
Contact: Karen Wentworth, (505) 277-5627