The Mexican Suitcase presents images drawn from the most famous group of recovered negatives of the twentieth century. In December 2007, three boxes filled with rolls of film, containing 4,500 35mm negatives of the Spanish Civil War by Robert Capa, Gerda Taro, and Chim (David Seymour)—which had been considered lost since 1939—arrived at the International Center of Photography. These three photographers, who lived in Paris, worked in Spain, and published internationally, laid the foundation for modern war photography.

One of the most spectacular political events of the twentieth century was the Cuban Revolution of 1959. The improbable overthrow of the dictator Fulgenico Batista by a band of young Communist guerillas and intellectuals occurred just ninety miles from the United States. Tracing the movement from the triumphal entry of the rebels into Havana on January 1, 1959 through the abortive Bay of Pigs invasion in 1960 and the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1961, this exhibition shows the tremendous influence of photography in recording and encouraging the revolutionary movement in Cuba.

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Curatorial remarks are at 12:15 p.m. Exhibitions are on view September 24, 2010–January 9, 2011.