THE RETURN

A Homage to the Veterans of the International Brigades on the 50th Anniversary of the Spanish Civil War
1986-1988
60" X 84" / 152,4 cm. X 213.4 cm.
Oil and sand on canvas
Collection: Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives

Twenty-seven veterans of the International Brigades which participated in the defense of the Spanish Republic against the fascist forces of General Francisco Franco during the civil war of 1936-1939 are portrayed as theyappeared on the stage of Madrid's Palacio de Congresos y Exposiciones on 19 October 1986 when they were honored by Spanish authorities in commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the conflict. Some hold red carnations handed to them by young girls.

On the upper left quadrant there emerges from the sepia background a contingent of young volunteers as they might have looked upon disembarking in Barcelona in 1937. On the upper right there bursts an abstraction of the flag of the Spanish Republic.

On the lower left a quote from Dolores Ibárruri, La Pasionaria, reads:

"Better to die on your feet than to live on your knees."

"The Return" is presently displayed in the office of Dr. Michael Nash, Head of New York University's Tamiment Library, home of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives (ALBA)