Miguel Covarrubias, one of Mexico's most multifaceted artists, began working as a caricaturist for various newspapers and literary magazines in the 1920s. In 1923, he moved to New York, where his caricatures of celebrities and political figures appeared in Vanity Fair, Fortune, and the New Yorker. He also worked as a set and costume designer.
In 1930, Covarrubias traveled to Africa, Bali, Java, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Manila, and Vietnam. He returned to Bali in 1934 and soon afterward published an illustrated account of Balinese culture. In 1939, he began to research the culture of southern Mexico and eventually wrote a book, Mexico South: The Isthmus of Tehuantepec, published in 1946. He returned to Mexico in 1942 and went on to become a leading archaeologist, ethnologist, and folklorist. New York Scene: Negro Dancers (Escena de Nueva York: Danzantes negros) is from the period when Covarrubias began working on sketches of Harlem life.
Ilona Katzew, 2008
