Modernist Women Photographers in Mexico and Argentina, 1930s-1950s: Lola Álvarez Bravo and Grete Stern

Men dominated the photography industry in Latin America throughout the early twentieth century. Though some women did take up photography practices of their own, these artists remain inadequately studied. This thesis addresses the gap in research of female photographers and their artistic production. Specifically, I examine the portraiture photography of Lola Álvarez Bravo in Mexico and Grete Stern in Argentina between the 1930s and 1950s. Álvarez Bravo and Stern were progressive female photographers who used their art for a unique social means: to criticize their respective governments and publicize the inequalities faced by marginalized populations. I argue that Álvarez Bravo and Stern employed modernist and avant-garde techniques in their photography to reflect this critique. Specifically, their artwork countered governmental policies such as Indigenismo in Mexico and Peronist reforms in Argentina, positioning Álvarez Bravo and Stern as unique, critical voices in their societies.