In the 1920s, a movement was launched to recover the pre-Columbian aesthetic. This movement was rooted in the significant development of Peruvian archaeology starting in the early twentieth century and the related search for sources of national identity, fostered by Indianism. There was a growing interest among artists, researchers and intellectuals in adapting pre-Columbian themes for use in contemporary life, especially by including them in the decorative and functional arts.The Peruvian artist, Elena Izcue (1889–1970) performed one of the most important roles in this movement. Distanced from the Indianist group directed by the painter, José Sabogal (1888-1956), she found her own path, making her mark in textile design and applied art, which linked her to the fashion industry in Paris and New York. As an educator, she was able to conceive of the forms of pre-Columbian art as a pedagogical medium. As early as1921, Izcue had worked in a group project to create an educational, social and entrepreneurial model at the Chiclín estate (La Libertad) [Freedom], the property of Rafael Larco Herrera (1872–1956), a philanthropist and collector of pre-Hispanic objects. With this focus, Elena developed a set of illustrated texts and the two volumes of El arte peruano en la escuela, [Peruvian Art in the School] to be used for artistic instruction, published in 1926 (Paris). The simplicity of the themes, as well as their organization, allow the assumption that the first copybook was primarily designed for young children; while the second, with a section on the topic of the application of the decorative arts, was designed for craftsmen or more advanced students. In both volumes, the figures are derived from pre-Columbian works but are presented as autonomous elements. Given the isolation of the figures from their original context, without any explanation about their origin or meaning, this presentation placed the highest priority on the designs themselves. El arte peruano en la escuela led to greater local and international recognition for Izcue. These volumes were also published in English and French versions, which allowed their distribution among Latin Americanists throughout Europe. Thanks to Larco Herrera, the books were also introduced into U.S. schools and arts media. Intellectuals from around the world celebrated their publication. The first copies to reach Lima, early in 1927, were widely distributed to the Peruvian press. The reviews with the most impact were written by Elvira García y García (1862–1951), Magda Portal (1903–89), and Dora Mayer de Zulen (1868–1959), all of whom emphasized the opportunity to offer local models capable of stimulating children to assume a nationalist identification. [Texts by the three writers have been reproduced for this project.] In fact, the copybooks were used for arts education in various schools around Peru. The writer of this article, the Peruvian, Magda Portal, was distinctive through her active political participation in a leftist movement that sought social transformation and emphasized the participation of the woman, assigning a key role to education. Portal contributed to the journal, Amauta with both poems and essays. She was also one of the founders of the Partido Aprista Peruano (1924) [the Peruvian branch of the American Revolutionary Popular Alliance], joining its executive committee as secretary of women’s issues. Her political activism led to her subsequent detention and expulsion from Peru. In her later years, she distanced herself from political militancy, spending all her time on her literary vocation. Natalia Majluf and Luis Eduardo Wuffarden published Elene Izcue. El arte precolombino en la vida moderna [Elena Izcue. Pre-Columbian Art in Modern Life] (Lima: MALI, 1999), the most complete study to date on the artist’s life and work.