RUFINO TAMAYO | Autorretrato

Private Collection, New York (and sold: Sotheby's, New York, May 23, 2012, lot 27) 
Acquired at the above sale 

Mexico City, Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, 45 Autorretratos de pintores mexicanos siglos XVIII al XX: II Exposición del Museo Nacional de Artes Plásticas, Departamento de Artes Plásticas, 1947, n.n., illustrated in the catalogue
Mexico City, Museo Nacional de Artes Plásticas, 50 obras de Tamayo, II Bienal Interamericana de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado de México, 1960, no. 3, illustrated in the catalogue

Robert Goldwater, Rufino Tamayo, New York, 1947, n.n., illustrated p. 49
Ceferino Palencia, Rufino Tamayo, Mexico City, 1950, no. 1, illustrated n.p.
Justino Fernández, Arte Moderno y Contemporáneo de México, Mexico City, 1954, no. 468, illustrated p. 407
Paul Westheim, "El Arte de Tamayo, Una Investigación Estética," in Artes de México, 1956, illustrated n.p.
Paul Westheim, Tamayo: Una Investigación Estética, Mexico City, 1957, illustrated n.p.
Xavier Moyssen, Los Grandes Maestros de la Pintura Universal: Cinco Grandes de la Pintura Mexicana, Milan, 1980, discussed p. 135, 141
Olav Munzberg, "Rufino Tamayo eine Mexicanishe Kontroverse," in Bildende Kunst, Berlin, 1986, n.n., illustrated n.p.
Judith Alanís, Rufino Tamayo, Una Cronología, 1899-1987, Mexico City, 1987, p. 25
Rufino Tamayo: del Reflejo al Sueño, 1920-1950 (exhibition catalogue), Centro Cultural/Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City, 1995-96, no. 3,  illustrated p. 13
Rita Eder, El Espacio y la post guerra en la obra de Rufino Tamayo en XIX Coloquio Internacional de Historia del Arte, Mexico City, 1997, n.n., illustrated p. 293
Raquel Tibol, Nuevo realismo y posvanguardia en las Américas, Mexico City, 2003, discussed p. 51
Elena Horz de Sotomayor, et al., Artistas por artistas: Autorretrato de pintores Mexicanos Siglo XX, Mexico City, 2013, illustrated in color p. 76
Juan Carlos Pereda, et al., Del mural al caballete: El México de Rufino Tamayo y David Alfaro Siqueiros, Mexico City, 2013, illustrated in color p. 105 

This work is in excellent condition. It is still on its original stretcher. There are two small reinforcements on the reverse. One reinforcement seems to address an area of cracking and a small amount of loss in the center of the left side, about 1 1/2 inches from the left edge. The other is a very small reinforcement addressing a small loss in the sleeve of the arm on the left. There are some slightly visible cracks in the sleeve of the arm on ther ight, and to the left and the right of the eyes, but these cracks are not indications of instability. The paint layer is clean and unvarnished. The restoration is careful and well applied, and 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.

“In his Autorretrato (Self-Portrait) of 1931, Tamayo emphasizes the rich darkness of his face, which is outlined by a strip of bare canvas that isolates it from the other elements of the painting and lends the image a certain oneiric quality. The background of the painting can be just barely discerned; it is an arid landscape scattered with tree stumps, on one of which rests a bird, possibly an evocation of music… Tamayo employed music and poetry in his work to combat what he considered an excessive dominance of narrative and literary subjects in the Mexican Muralist movement. In this way he also demonstrated an affinity for the Western twentieth-century idea that visual art should be lyrical like music, far from direct imitation of life, suggesting and immersing the viewer in its own inherent physical qualities.” Rita Eder, El Espacio y la post guerra en la obra de Rufino Tamayo en XIX Coloquio Internacional de Historia del Arte, Mexico City, 1997, p. 293