The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 13, 2026

A horizontally oriented black-and-white photograph depicts a dark wooden vanity against window blinds. An arched mirror reflects a woman with medium skin tone and long dark hair looking toward us. The tabletop is crowded with figurines, necklaces, and framed photographs. Two drawers with ring pulls flank the center. In the background, horizontal blinds create a rhythmic pattern, while jewelry and small photos are tucked into the mirror's frame.

Yrenia Cervantes

1990

Laura Aguilar

(American, 1959–2018)
America
gelatin silver print
Image: 22.9 x 30.5 cm (9 x 12 in.); Paper: 27.9 x 35.6 cm (11 x 14 in.)
Karl B. Goldfield Trust 2023.10
© Laura Aguilar Trust
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

A native of the San Gabriel Valley in Southern California, Aguilar had deep roots in California that she traced back through several generations of women in her family.

Description

Laura Aguilar photographed diverse artists in the burgeoning Chicano/a art community in East Los Angeles, where she lived and worked. The portrait of Yrenia Cervantes, a Chicana activist and mural painter, shows the sitter’s bedroom elaborately decorated like a home altar, a common sight in borderlands homes.
  • 1990-2023
    Estate of Laura Aguilar, Los Angeles, CA, sold to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    March 6, 2023-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Fellah, Nadiah Rivera, William Griswold, Natalie Scenters-Zapico, and Cleveland Museum of Art. Picturing the Border. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2024. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 81-82, no. 28
    Fallah, Nadiah Rivera. “Picturing the Border: Contemporary photography from the US-Mexico borderlands.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 64, no. 2 (June/July/August 2024): 6-7. Reproduced and Mentioned: P. 7 archive.org
  • Picturing the Border. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 21, 2024-January 5, 2025).
  • {{cite web|title=Yrenia Cervantes|url=false|author=Laura Aguilar|year=1990|access-date=13 May 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2023.10