Lola Cueto's 126th Birthday

Today’s animated Doodle celebrates the 126th birthday of Mexican artist Lola Cueto. This tapestry designer, toy collector, engraver, teacher, and puppet master was born in Mexico City on this day in 1897 as María Dolores Velázquez Rivas.

Lola Cueto’s creativity was evident when she was very young. At age 12, she became one of the first women to enroll at the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes (National School of Fine Arts) at San Carlos Academy. Her art training continued after the Mexican Revolution at the Santa Anita Outdoor Painting School, where she was the only woman in her class.

Cueto broke into the male-dominated embroidery field by combining traditional designs from Indigenous culture with new technology in the form of embroidery machines. She moved to Paris in 1927 with her husband, an avant-garde sculptor, where the pair became involved in a community of artists. Cueto’s intricate tapestry work was displayed at their joint exhibitions, and she used the chain technique to depict French cathedrals in her embroidery.

She moved back to Mexico City with her husband and two daughters in 1932, where she mastered engraving, pioneered puppet theater, and began to teach art at Mexico City College. Cueto was one of the artists that founded the League of Revolutionary Writers and Artists (LEAR), a cohort of creatives against the censorship of art. Through this, she created the first glove puppet dolls in Mexico. Her interests spanned into theater as well, with Cueto founding three puppet theater companies called Rin Run, El Nahual, and El Colorín. She used her puppet shows to entertain and educate children in fun ways. 

A variety of her work can be viewed and enjoyed today. The dozens of puppets she fashioned are at the National School of Fine Arts, while the Met Museum houses several of her etchings and tapestries. Some of her toy collection and paper cuttings are at the Cultural Center at Santa Domingo.

Happy birthday, Lola Cueto! Thank you for pushing the needle forward for female artists.