Peter Rodríguez

Peter Rodríguez (1926 – 2016) was an American artist, curator, and museum director. He was the founder, director and curator of the Mexican Museum in San Francisco, and a co-founder of the Galería de la Raza.

Early life Peter Rodríguez was born as a twin on June 25, 1926, in Stockton, California. There were eleven children in his family, his twin brother is Tony. He was the son of Jesús Rodríguez and Guadalupe García Rodríguez, immigrants from Guadalajara, Mexico. The family lived in Fowler and Jackson, California. At a young age he took an interest in art and comics, and won awards.

in 1975, Rodríguez founded the Mexican Museum on Folsom Street in the Mission District, and served as the founding director and curator of the museum for 10 years. The museum now holds a permanent collection of over 16,000 objects.

Death and legacy He continued to paint into his 80s, even after moving into the Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center around 2012. Rodriguez died on July 1, 2016, at the age of 90 at the Laguna Honda Hospital in San Francisco.

On July 19, 2016, Rodríguez's legacy was celebrated in San Francisco when they unveiled the cornerstone of the new museum, with Nancy Pelosi and Claudia Ruiz Massieu in attendance.