2004-6

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Lily Furedi was born in Budapest, Hungary in 1896 and died in New York City in 1969. In this painting she boldly did something that few dare to do: she looked at people on the subway. She took the viewpoint of a seated rider gazing down the car at her fellow passengers. The Hungarian-born artist knew of the subway riders’ customary avoidance of staring at one’s fellow riders; most people in her painting keep to themselves by hiding behind a magazine or newspaper, or by sleeping. Those who violate the unwritten rule do so furtively. A woman takes a quiet sidelong glance at the newspaper read by the man next to her, while a man steals a peek at a young woman applying lipstick. Only two women in the foreground, who obviously know each other, dare to look directly at each other as they talk companionably. Furedi takes a friendly interest in her fellow subway riders, portraying them sympathetically. She focuses particularly on a musician who has fallen asleep in his formal working clothes, holding his violin case. The artist would have identified with such a New York musician because her father, Samuel Furedi, was a professional cellist.

Horacio Valdez was born in 1929 in Dixon, New Mexico and died in 1992 in Apodaca, New Mexico. A carpenter for twenty-five years, he suffered a nearly fatal job accident in 1974, during which his right hand was crushed. It was then that Valdez began to carve, "just to pass the time." He was fond of saying, "No hay mal, que por bien no venga" (Nothing bad ever happens without resulting in some good). A self-taught carver and painter, Valdez – who recalled being initiated as a member of the Penitente brotherhood the day following his first carving – was a devoutly religious man. Among the prolific artist’s many carvings were more than 250 crucifixes.

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