Lola Álvarez Bravo

Born Dolores Martínez in Jalisco, Mexico, Lola Alvarez Bravo was one of Mexico’s most influential photographers. Her work has often been overshadowed by that of her husband, renowned photographer Manuel Alvarez Bravo. They married in Mexico City in 1925 just as his photography practice began. Manuel introduced Lola to the camera, the darkroom, and photography techniques, and she assisted him with developing and printing his images. They shared equipment when Lola began taking her own photographs and in 1927 they opened a photography gallery in their Mexico City home. The couple played a vital role in the cultural circle that included artists Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Rufino Tamayo, Maria Izquierdo, and David Alfaro Siquerios. They separated in 1934, and she used photography to support herself and their son. She traveled throughout Mexico photographing everyday people and their lives. Her confident formal aesthetic, often blurred the lines of abstraction and representational. Her works are known for their strong compositional elements, crisp details, and how she used the light and shadows on surfaces to underscore the mood of the environments and the people she photographed. Her archive is housed in the University of Arizona’s Center for Creative Photography.