Lot 6
  • 6

Rufino Tamayo (1899-1991)

Estimate
600,000 - 800,000 USD
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Description

  • Rufino Tamayo
  • Aviones de paso
  • signed and dated O-47 lower left
  • oil and sand on canvas
  • 40 by 30 in.
  • 101.6 by 76.2 cm

Provenance

Pierre Matisse Gallery, New York
Knoedler Gallery, New York
Edward Joseph Gallagher III, Baltimore
The Baltimore Museum of Art, Edward Joseph Gallagher III Memorial Collection, Baltimore
Sale: Christie's, New York, Latin American Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture, May 1, 1990, lot 20, illustrated in color
Private Collection, Monterrey
Sale: Sotheby's, New York, Latin American Art, November 23, 1999, lot 43, illustrated in color

Exhibited

Mexico City, Galería de Arte Mexicano, Tamayo. Diez óleos y seis dibujos, September 22-October 4, 1947, no. 6
New York, Pierre Matisse Gallery, Rufino Tamayo. Recent Paintings, December 8, 1947-January 3, 1948, no. 6
Venice, XXV Biennale Internazionale d'Arte 1950, June-September 1950, no. 55, p. 361
Brussels, Palais de Beaux Arts, Tamayo, December 22, 1950-January 7, 1951, no. 28
Buenos Aires, Instituto de Arte Moderno, Rufino Tamayo. Pinturas y Litografías, August 1951, no. 11, pl. 3, illustrated
Phoenix, Phoenix Art Museum, RufinoTamayo, March 1968, no. 44, p. 59, illustrated
Mexico City, Centro Cultural de Arte Contemporáneao, Rufino Tamayo del Reflejo al Sueño, 1920-1950, October 19, 1995-February 25, 1996, no. 81, p. 75

Literature

Antonio Rodríguez, Revista Mas!, October 2, 1947, illustrated
"Raíz en la esencia Mexicana", Tiempo. Seminario de la vida y la verdad, No. 283, October 3, 1947, p. 34, illustrated
Enrique Gual, "Las Exposiciones Rufino Tamayo", La Propiedad, October 4, 1947, discussed
"Reseña de exposiciones", Revista de Revistas, October 5, 1947, p. 35, illustrated
Luis Cardoza y Aragón, Pintura Mexicana Contemporánea, Mexico City, 1953, no. 19, illustrated
Paul Weisthem, Tamayo, A Study in Aesthetics, Mexico City, 1957, illustrated
Judith Alanís and Sofía Urrutia, Rufino Tamayo, Una Cronología, 1899-1987, Mexico City, 1987, p. 49, discussed

Condition

This work is in lovely condition. The canvas is still on its original stretcher. The artist has incorporated sand into his pigment, which is stable and effective. There do not seem to be any retouches, aside from possibly a few retouches in a diagonal line above the head of the figure on the right. If these are retouches, they are lazy and probably only address a few tiny spots. Elsewhere, in the far left of the crimson oval shape in the lower left quadrant, there may be a small retouching. However, all of the other eccentricities seen under ultraviolet light seem to correspond to original paint. (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.

Catalogue Note

“On being asked to define his relationships with his predecessors, Tamayo said: ‘Their ambition was to create a national art, but they were using the techniques of the Renaissance. They painted frescoes to glorify the bravery of the peasants during the Mexican revolution…Personally, what interests me most is easel painting, which I see as a sort of laboratory for constant experimenting…Art must belong to its time: it should not be concerned with memories but with what is happening now.’”

 - Jacques Lassaigne, Rufino Tamayo, Barcelona: Ediciones Polígrafa S.A., 1995, pp. 30-1