Elvira Gascón, una artista del exilio español en la edición mexicana

Elvira Gascón Vera arrived in Mexico in 1939 because of the Spanish Civil War and quickly integrated herself into the country’s cultural life. She participated in the country’s cultural scene through editorial work, illustrating in newspapers, as well as creating covers and interiors for works published by the Fondo de Cultura Económica (FCE), among several publishing houses. Although she has participated in several retrospectives and exhibitions, the facets of this Spanish artist’s graphic work have yet to be studied. In this article, we offer a biographical sketch, placing her in the cultural context in which she worked. We will focus on the uses of illustration in FCE books between the 1940s and 1960s, examining her work at that institution. This essay draws on extensive archival work that allowed us to consult originals of her pieces, complemented by a review of the books housed in the Biblioteca Nacional de Mexico. The above allows us to clearly document her presence and participation in the Mexican book world, as well as recognize the role he played in the visual shaping of an emblematic catalog, whose aesthetics were an important part of 20th-century print culture.