(b. 1899, Ecuador; d. 1962). Egas was the first artist to introduce the subject of Indians in Ecuadorian art in the 1920’s and was part of a group of artists who revolutionized South American painting through the introduction of indigenous politics. The artist, influenced by the Mexican muralists, traveled internationally and in 1924 participated in the Exposition d’Art Americain-Latin at the Musee Galliera in Paris, where objects from his pre-Columbian pottery and folk art collection were included alongside his own work. Egas moved to New York in 1927, living at times in Italy and Spain, making frequent trips back to Ecuador. After the 1930’s he focused on social themes and Surrealist landscapes, becoming a pioneer indigenest in the 1930’s, although Indigenismo was not officially a movement until 1939 when the three writers-Jorge Reyes, Jose Alfredo Llerena, and Alfredo Chavez- founded the Syndicate of Ecuadorian Writers and Artists. Camilo Egas&r
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