Arnold Belkin Sold at Auction Prices

Painter, Sculptor, b. 1930 - d. 1992

Arnold Belkin (December 9, 1930 – July 3, 1992) was a Canadian-Mexican painter credited for continuing the Mexican muralism tradition at a time when many Mexican painters were shifting away from it. Born and raised in western Canada, he trained as an artist there but was not drawn to traditional Canadian art. Instead he was inspired by images of Diego Rivera's work in a magazine to move to Mexico when he was only eighteen. He studied further in Mexico, focusing his education and his career mostly on murals, creating a type of work he called a "portable mural" as a way to adapt it to new architectural style. He also had a successful career creating canvas works as well with several notable series of paintings. He spent most of his life and career in Mexico except for a stay in New York City in the late 1960s to mid-1970s. His best known works are the murals he created for the University Autónoma Metropolitana in the Iztapalapa borough of Mexico City.

Belkin was born on December 9, 1930, with the name Arnold Lewis Belken Greenberg in Calgary, Alberta.[1][2] His father was a Russian Jewish immigrant who became prominent in the Vancouver Jewish community when the family moved there shortly after Belkin's birth. His mother was a Jewish immigrant from England.[2][3]

He began drawing and painting at an early age. His parents were socialist, which would affect his later artwork, giving him an harshal in social issues and the rights of the underprivileged.[2] He began formal art training at the Vancouver School of Art, studying there from 1945 to 1947. At age 15, Belkin won first place an art contest with the Labor Arts Guild in British Columbia with the painting "Workers on a Streetcar."[1][2] From 1947 to 1948 he studied at the Banff School of Fine Arts.[4] During his training, Belkin was not drawn to traditional Canadian painting which was heavily focused on landscapes. At age 14 he discovered the work of Diego Rivera and Mexican muralism from Time magazine.[1][2] He discovery of contemporary Mexican art made a great impact and in 1948 at the age of eighteen, he left Canada to move to Mexico. He enrolled into the Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado "La Esmeralda" from 1948 to 1949, studying with Agustín Lazo, Carlos Orozco Romero and Andrés Sánchez Flores.[1][4] In Mexico City, he was surrounded by the mural work of the first half of the 20th century, with its emphasis on class struggle and oppression.[2] At La Esmeralda, he focused on this kind of painting, being influenced by the work of José Clemente Orozco, Rico Lebrun and Leonard Baskin.[5]

In 1950 he traveled to various parts of Mexico, especially the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. From this trip, he wrote a script for a radio documentary on the region's music, customs and legends, produced by Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.[6]

In the same year, he met David Alfaro Siqueiros, forming both a personal and professional relationship.[6] He was an assistant on two murals from that time Patricios y Patricidas at the former customs building in Santo Domingo along with the Cuauhtémoc mural at the Palacio de Bellas Artes from 1950 to 1951.[6][7] The experience not only influence his style but also taught him the level of quality expected in Mexican muralism.[2] In the early 1950s he joined the Taller de Ensayo de Materiales y Plásticos run by Prof. José L. Gutíerrez at the Instituto Politecnico Nacional, participating in the creation of various collective murals.[1]

From 1954 to 1956, he studied engraving in metal with Lola Cueto at Mexico City College and lithography from the Escuela de Artes del Libro with Pedro Castelar Baez.[1][6]

He also participated in the workshop of Guillermo Silva Santamaría where he met Francisco Icaza and Leonel Góngora.[6]

Belkin spent most of the rest of his life in Mexico, except for a trip to Europe and a number of years spent in New York City in the 1970s, connecting with American painters such as Omar Rayo, Rudolph Abularach, César Paternosto and Rubens Gerchman .[6] For Expo 67 in Montreal, he represented Mexico rather than Canada.[4][6] He returned to Mexico to stay in 1976, becoming a naturalized citizen in 1981.[2]

He was married once, to dancer Esperanza Gómez with whom he had two daughters. After they divorced, he had numerous relationships but did not remarry or have more children.[4] At the time of his death, his partner was Patricia Quijano, and he had one grandchild.[4][8]

Belkin died in Mexico City on July 3, 1992, from lung cancer at age 61.[2][9] He was buried at the Panteón Judio in Mexico City with honors.