Armando Morales (1927-2011)

Gift from the artist to the present owner

The work is in very good condition. There are no signs of damage or repairs.
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.

Eternally fertile and impenetrable, Armando Morales' verdant landscapes converge at the edge of reality and dream. His is the land of magical realism: a newly found and lyrical Arcadia immortalized by Gabriel García Márquez as the enigmatic Macondo in his illustrious One Hundred Years of Solitude. Morales' tropical landscapes, arguably his most sought-after pictures, are territories conceived in the artist's childhood memories of his native Granada in Nicaragua. "Granada is my store of memories," he once revealed to art critic Edward Sullivan. 

Plantación con dos figuras captures the ethereal character of Morales' pictorial imagination. Painted with a fluid and agitated brushstroke, the work is populated by two archetypal statuesque nudes. Classical and timeless, they evoke metaphysical and intellectual qualities ingrained in recognizable art historical references: Italian fresco painting, Morandi's serene still-lifes...And yet, there is a certain theatricality in Morales painting; a meditative mood conveyed by his use of pristine ubiquitous light. Confronted with such unattainable reality, the spectator enters an otherworldly space existent only as a figment of the Latin American experience.