Mexican American Art Since 1848 (MAAS1848)

Tienda de Elizondo

Treviño, Jesse

Jesse Treviño, Tienda de Elizondo, 1993, acrylic on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Reverend Virgilio Elizondo, San Fernando Cathedral, San Antonio, Texas, 1994.126

Grocery

Sign

Male and Child

1993

Painting

acrylic on canvas

Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM)

The acrylic on canvas painting depicts a group of people in a grocery store looking directly at the viewer. Using a photorealistic style, the artist captures a wide-angle view of the store owned and operated by the Elizondo family in San Antonio, Texas. The artist portrayed three of the store workers and three men in suits, one of whom is holding a little boy. The background of the painting is detailed with cans and boxes of food. Some brands are visible such as Quaker Oats, Coca-Cola, Campbell’s Soup, Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, and Ritz Crackers. Crates of apples, pears, and onions appear in the foreground. Sacks of potatoes are laid near the child’s feet. On the right side of the image, a worker stands behind a counter and near a scale with butchers’ paper on it. The wall behind the worker has a sign for Fair Maid Is Good Bread, the name of a Texas bread company. On the ceiling, there’s a lightbulb hanging from a wire, a gold ceiling fan, and a sign advertising Prem. The image of American abundance, as seen in the commercial products and recognizable brands, suggests the borderlands experience of the Elizondo family and their patrons, who were likely also Mexican and Mexican Americans. The mixing of cultures implies nepantla, living between cultures.

The painting was a gift from the artist to Reverend Virgilio Elizondo in 1993. Both Jesse Trevino and Elizondo were major community members of San Antonio. (Author: Jay Villescas)

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