Closing of Whittier Blvd.

Artist Frank Romero (born 1941)

Date1990

MediumLimited edition serigraph on paper, hand embellished by the artist

Dimensions34 x 54 in. (86.4 x 137.2 cm)
Framed (Frame is black, wired, glazed): 42 x 63 x 1 1/2 in. (106.7 x 160 x 3.8 cm)

ClassificationsPrintmaking

Credit LineGift of The Hilbert Collection

Object number2020.214

DescriptionOne of today’s most celebrated living artists, Frank Romero, who grew up in diverse Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, was a member of the famed Chicano artists’ group Los Four (with Carlos Almaraz, Roberto de la Rocha and Gilbert Luján) during the height of the Chicano rights movement of the 1970s. The politically charged events of that era heavily influenced his later artworks, such as Closing of Whittier Boulevard, which refers to a real event during the ‘70s when the police closed off the boulevard to the lowriders who regularly frequented it. Romero also eloquently (and whimsically) portrays his home city of Los Angeles – often from a Chicano viewpoint and always with a huge helping of affection. His pieces often focus on L.A.’s obsessive car culture (as in Untitled) and the neighborhoods, people, animals and landmarks he grew up with, lives with and loves. One of his best-known works is a large mural along the 101 Freeway in L.A. that he completed in honor of the city’s hosting the 1984 Olympic Games, which is still seen by hundreds of thousands of drivers every day.

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