Inside the bright orange manila folder with the painting were a June 11, 1991 Los Angeles Times article, by Kevin Baxter, copies of pages from Art and Revolution in Latin America by David Craven, a copy of LUCY LACS 20 "About Nicaraguan: The Revolutionary Murals of Nicaragua, and a letter from the donor.
The donor wrote:
"This is an original watercolor painting by famed Nicaraguan artist Alejandro Canales. He was arguably one of the most important and celebrated muralists in Nicaraguan history. He died in
1990, and shortly thereafter, the right wing mayor of Managua initiated a campaign to "erase" his and other murals across the city.
I purchased this piece at an art show (in New York) to raise funds for humanitarian relief for Central America in 1990. I have enjoyed this painting for 25 years and am now ready to share it and its history with someone else who will appreciate it."
Blessings,
MM
The painting is identified as "Mujer con Succanoche." on the back. I asked my friend, Jose' to translate, and I was surprised to learn that there was no word "Succanoche" in the Spanish Dictionary. Eager to learn more about the artist, I turned to the internet. There was no Wikipedia biography on Canales. I was curious about Canales' early death and if any US museums/universities held special collections of his art.
The internet revealed that the OMCA (Okland Museum of California Art) held a painting by the artist. I contacted the Museum and left a message. A museum worker, Julian returned the call.
He informed me that OMCA had one painting by Alejandro Canales, "The Coffee Picker," painted in 1986, tempera on paper, donated to the Museum in 2010 by the Rossman Family. The painting is not on display.
Later, I shared my translation dilemma with someone who was visiting me. He e-mailed me with the
following information: "My stepdaughter looked at the Nicaraguan Spanish that I copied from the art work you showed me. She said she thinks the last word, "Succanoche," is actually a misspelling.of the word "Sacuanjoche, which is the word for plumeria, the national Nicaraguan flower... The translation for the whole title "Mujer con Sacuanjoche" would be "Woman with Plumeria."
I think she is right based on the fact that there is a flower in the image My art piece shows the head of woman with a yellow flower with five petals in a vibrant yellow color. It is a perfect match with the image of the Nicaraguan national flower. It is a watercolor on white paper.
Canales was born in 1945 and died in 1990. At age 12, he was apprenticed to a carpenter, but continued to draw and paint on his own. His formal art training was at the National Fine Arts School where he studied drawing, painting and sculpture from 1961 until 1970.
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