Rufino Tamayo (1899-1991)

oil on canvas

Private Collection, California

This painting is in very good condition. The canvas is unlined and the paint layer is stable, although cracked here and there. The painting has been cleaned, lightly varnished and retouched in a spot or two in the green triangle to the left of the head and in a few more small spots in the green section to the right of the neck. There appear to be no other retouches and we recommend that the painting be hung as is. (This condition report has been provided courtesy of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.)
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Between 1926 and 1938 [Tamayo] painted a great many oils and gouaches, still lifes and landscapes: arches, cubes and terraces that place him as [Juan] García Ponce has pointed out, in the line of Cézanne. By going a little further along this road he was to come to Braque. It was not cubist painting but one of the consequences of that movement, one of the roads opened up after Cubism. In other canvases of those years we find a freer, more lyrical inspiration that might be described as the exaltation of everyday life through colour, sensuousness rather than eroticism: Matisse.

--Octavio Paz