Diego Rivera’s Vaccine Mural in Detroit in the 1930s

A Mexican artist immortalized American ingenuity and industry during the Great Depression.

Back in 1929, the United States — along with much of the world — started experiencing an economic depression not seen since (though the 2008 “Great Recession” did rival it). The economy in Detroit, Michigan, was hit hard. According to Linda Downs of the Center for Public Art History:

“When the Mexican artist Diego Rivera arrived in Detroit in 1932 to paint these…