ARMANDO REVERÓN | Puerto cerca de La Guaira

Nat Weisblood, Malden (acquired directly from the artist circa 1940 and sold: Sotheby's, New York, December 3, 1981, lot 65)
Acquired at the above sale 

Caracas, Galería de Arte Nacional de Venezuela, Armando Reverón: Exposión iconográfica y documental en el centenario de su nacimiento, n.n., illustrated in color in the catalogue
Biarritz, Espace Bellevue, Passion et raison d'un esprit constructif: Une conquête de l'art d'Amérique Latine, oeuvres de la Fundación Daniela Chappard, 2006, no. 58, illustrated in color in the catalogue
Badajoz, Museo Extremeño e Iberoamericano de arte Contemporáneo de Badajoz, Explorando el sur. El universalismo constructivo y otras tendencias en América Latina, 2009, n.n., illustrated in color in the catalogue 

Juan Calzadilla, Armando Reverón, Caracas, 1991, no. 247, illustrated p. 314 
Galería de Arte Nacional de Venezuela, Presencia y luz de Armando Reverón (exhibition catalogue), Caracas, 1994, illustrated in color p. 47 

This work on burlap has been relined using wax as an adhesive. The paint layer is in beautiful condition. The impasto remains unaffected by the lining. Retouches are visible under ultraviolet light along the edges, particularly in the upper right. Within the picture proper, there are two restorations in the center of the right side, above the right end of the building. The work should 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.

When I first met [the artist], Nov. 1941, I was working at the La Guaira Airport and living in Macuto, only a stone's throw from Reverón.... I could write pages on how Reverón and his mistress lived—his home was a combination zoo, museum and jungle....

Reverón firmly believed that canvases took away from a painting—the medium had to be a part of the painting—burlap depicted his feelings of La Guaira and the burlap itself became the major part of his painting, even the ocean and power house at Macuto consisted mostly of burlap—and I was fascinated how the burlap transposed and became a transition of dirt, land, and huts and ocean, waves, water, and land. 

His paintings produced a wistfulness and a mistiness that could only be appreciated by standing back 30 or more feet and studying for long intervals, his paintings under various forms of light—sunlight-shade-rainy-cloudy-and gloomy days—artificial light takes away from his paintings...

In the ten months I knew Ramón Reverón, I was the only one to secure two paintings ...my belief is—that very few of his paintings found their way to the public and only at the rate of 2 or 3 a year—Each painting was his  heart, his blood, his soul—his great love—and it was almost impossible to buy a painting. 

-Nat Weisblood, October 27, 1966 



We wish to thank Proyecto Reverón for their kind assistance in the cataloguing of this work.