COVARRUBIAS, MIGUEL

born 1904, Mexico City, Mex. died Feb. 4, 1957, Mexico City Mexican painter, writer, and anthropologist. Covarrubias received little formal training. In 1923 he went to New York City on a government scholarship, and his incisive caricatures soon began to appear in such magazines as Vanity Fair. A collection of his caricatures, The Prince of Wales and Other Famous Americans, was published in 1925. His illustrations appeared in numerous magazines and books, showing his interest in the study of racial types. In 1930 and 1933 he and his wife visited the Orient, and subsequently he wrote Island of Bali (1937) and painted six mural maps illustrating the cultures of the Pacific area for the Golden Gate International Exposition, San Francisco, which were then published as Pageant of the Pacific (1939). Turning to Mexico, Covarrubias wrote and illustrated an account of the Tehuantepec region, Mexico South (1946). His last book, The Eagle, the Jaguar, and the Serpent (1954), surveyed the cultures of the northern American Indians. Covarrubias also worked as a theatre designer, easel painter, printmaker, and art history teacher. His work in the visual arts reflects a flair for decoration, with perceptiveness and thorough craftsmanship.