Artwork copyright Barbara Carrasco. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2016.

Dolores Huerta, 2002

Barbara Carrasco
(American, born 1955)

Location: University of Washington, Seattle

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Barbara Carrasco's colorful print honors Dolores Huerta, a celebrated labor and civil rights activist. Huerta co-founded the United Farm Workers labor union with activist César Chávez in the 1960s.

She was a vocal and influential advocate for the rights of workers, women, and immigrants. She championed ethnic diversity and equality in her activism. Huerta was the first recipient of the Eleanor Roosevelt Award for Human Rights in 1998. She was recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.

Carrasco created this piece in honor of Dolores Huerta's presentation of the 17th annual Ernest Galarza Lecture at Stanford University. It is an example of the artist’s body of work depicting Huerta's image. Carrasco notes, "There are so many icons of men, and icons of women painted by men, that I wanted (as a woman) to create an iconic image of Huerta to recognize her as an equal of César Chávez and, historically, the most important negotiator for the United Farm Workers.”

In 2008, The Girl Scouts of America created a merit patch about activism, based on Barbara Carrasco’s image of Dolores Huerta.

This artwork is part of a collection of artworks located in the University of Washington's Kane Hall. The collection pays tribute to the diversity of UW's campus community and features nine artists whose art explores identity. Student leaders from the UW Minority Think Tank were involved in the selection of the artworks in 2005.

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with University of Washington.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Los Angeles-based artist and muralist Barbara Carrasco creates striking paintings, murals and prints that reflect her Chicana heritage and explore themes of social justice. She has created many images supporting the United Farm Workers.
Carrasco received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, and her Master of Fine Arts degree from California Institute of the Arts.