By: Francisco Mora

Medium: lithograph
Year: 1946
Image Size: 17.6" H x 15.1" W
Signature: Pencil, lower Right
Paper: Cream wove
Publisher: Taller de Grafica Popular

This print exemplifies Mora's focus on the lives of working-class Mexicans. Using dramatic lighting and expressive poses, he depicted miners to convey their harsh realities and isolation. The crouched, muscular figure in this work embodies exhaustion and alienation, highlighting the difficult conditions of Mexican miners. Mora used lithography to communicate social issues and inspire change, collaborating with the TGP to introduce American audiences to Mexican life and politically engaged art.

Francisco Mora (1922–2002) was a Mexican artist renowned for his painting, muralism, and printmaking, especially lithography. Born in Michoacán, he moved to Mexico City in 1941, studied at La Esmeralda, and became Diego Rivera's pupil. He joined the Taller de Gráfica Popular (TGP), a workshop dedicated to social and political causes through printmaking, until 1965. His prints addressed workers' rights, literacy, and struggles of marginalized communities, and were exhibited internationally. His art is held in major museum collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.