Armando Reverón (1889-1954)

Governor & Mrs. Henry J. Allen, Kansas City acquired from the artist circa 1940
Thence by descent to the present owners

Overall th eboard is in god condition. The board has some condition issues which have been treated. However, the illustratioin board should be removed from the masonite at some point in time. The board is lifting from the masonite on the right edge. Although there appears to be flaking, the gouache is very stable. This condition report has been prepared by Mary Kearns Paper Conservation.
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.

"I came to Venezuela as men travel to a land of fables" -Henry J. Allen

Henry Justin Allen (1868-1950) was the publisher of several newspapers in his home state of Kansas. He had a very active political life in the State, serving as Governor from 1919 until 1923 and Senator from 1929 until 1931.

After retiring from politics and journalism, Mr. Allen became interested in traveling. He visited the Soviet Union to "see for himself" the results of the first and second Five Year Plan. Soon after visiting the U.S.S.R. Allen visited Venezuela in 1939, a country of general interest as the most importnat supplier of oil to the United States. He spent a few months in the country and was favorably surprised by the way it was run, four years after the death of Dictator Juan Vicente Gómez. Upon returning to the US in 1939, Doubleday published the account of his stay in the tropical country.

A politician and journalist, Allen was also a humanist. In 1915, he commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design a home for him, now known as the Allen-Lambe house and the only work by the famed architect in Kansas. His book points to his interest in Venezuelan art schools and local artists. It was a local contact that introduced him to Armando Reveron. Of the artist, Allen writes, "The artist wears scanty clothing year round. The day I visited him, his bare feet were encased in a pair of homemade sandals; his shirt was absent; his only other garment was a pair of burlap trunks. In the tropical climate of the Caribbean seacoast, it was ample. He was burned a dark brown, looked healthy, and his fine eyes and chiseled features, which gave him the look of an aesthete, redeemed his personality from the obvious misrepresentation of his crude surroundings..."

Allen continues with great appreciation for the Venezuelan artist: "Reveron's palette consists of various tones of white, his paintbrushes are mostly stumps from which the bristles are gone; sometimes he stops to replenish the almost bare surface of his paintbrush with something to which the paint will cling, then he works on.../..His paintings express a strong originality of spirit. The delicacy of his work, revealed in the white and grays of his palette, presents an influence of his study of the Impressionists in his actual work.../ My companion, René Borges, whose introductions were responsible for the visit to Reveron, had known him as a boyhood friend and was one of the few men for whom Reveron retains a warm friendship. But even Borges did not know why this rare genius has taken refuge in the primitive life". [1]

It was during this visit that Governor Allen acquired the present painting, Retrato de una Joven, from the artist, which was later hung in his Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Prairie-style home in Kansas.

[1] Henry J Allen, Venezuela, A Democracy, New York, 1940, p. 196