In Huerta’s vibrantly colored lithograph, portraits of George Washington and Emiliano Zapata appear as part of an orange background. Hatched linework delineates each face, indicating that the artist has taken their likeness from images on paper currency. Both men stare out from behind the word “Fin,” Spanish for “End,” while a stylized red-and-black snake—a recurring motif in Huerta’s art—adorns the lower right corner of the composition.

The word “Fin” is a nod to the end credits of movies, but in this image, just what is ending, exactly? Perhaps Washington’s and Zapata’s faces offer a clue. Once vilified by many as political radicals, dangerous insurgents even, the two men are now revered as national icons, commemorated in currency and valorized in movies. Juxtaposing their images with the declaration of an ending, Huerta’s print speaks to the possibility of a radical transformation in historical understanding—a vision of the past that keeps future revolutions in sight.

—Text taken from the Carter Handbook (2023)