Rufino Tamayo
Rufino del Carmen Arellanes Tamayo (August 25, 1899 – June 24, 1991) was a Mexican painter of Zapotec heritage, born in Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico.[1][2] Tamayo was active in the mid-20th century in Mexico and New York, painting figurative abstraction[3][4] with surrealist influences.[1]
In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Arellanes and the second or maternal family name is Tamayo.
Rufino Tamayo
24 June 1991 (aged 91)
María Izquierdo, José Vasconcelos (National Archaeological Museum)
Painting and drawing
Olga Flores
Head of the Department of Ethnographic Drawings, Escuela Nacional de Artes Plasticas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
Early life[edit]
Tamayo was born in Oaxaca, Mexico in 1899 to Manuel Arellanes and Florentina Tamayo.[5] His mother was a seamstress and his father was a shoemaker. His mother died of tuberculosis in 1911.[6] His Zapotec heritage is often cited as an early influence.[3]
After his mother's death, he moved to Mexico City to live with his aunt, where he spent a lot of time working alongside her in the city's fruit markets.[7]
While there, he devoted himself to helping his family with their small business. However, in 1917 Tamayo's aunt enrolled him at Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas at San Carlos to study art.[3] As a student, he experimented with and was influenced by Cubism, Impressionism and Fauvism, among other popular art movements of the time, but with a distinctly Mexican feel.[3] Tamayo studied drawing at the Academy of Art at San Carlos as a young adult, he became dissatisfied and eventually decided to study on his own. That was when he began working for José Vasconcelos at the Department of Ethnographic Drawings (1921); he was later appointed head of the department by Vasconcelos.
Outside Mexico[edit]
From 1937 to 1949, Tamayo and his wife Olga lived in New York where he painted some of his most memorable works. He had his first show in New York City at the Valentine Gallery. He gained credibility thereby and proceeded to exhibit works at the Knoedler Gallery and Marlborough Gallery. While in New York, Tamayo instructed Helen Frankenthaler at the Dalton School.[18] Tamayo, while in the United States, attended important exhibitions that influenced his art mechanics. From Ingres to Picasso and French art exhibitions, Tamayo was introduced to Impressionism, Fauvism, and Cubism. Also, at an exhibition in Brooklyn in 1928, Tamayo came into contact with Henri Matisse, the French artist.[9]
In a 1926 exhibition, 39 of Tamayo's works were displayed at the Weyhe Gallery in New York just a month after his arrival into the United States. This stands in stark contrast to the few showings which were held during his early career in México.[12] The artist's sojourn in New York dramatically increased his recognition not only in the United States but in Mexico and other countries also.
Death[edit]
On June 12, 1991, Tamayo was admitted to Mexico City's National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition for respiratory and heart failure. He suffered a heart attack and died on June 24, 1991.
Before his death, Tamayo continued creating art pieces in his late years. He was very productive at that stage in life. There were several important exhibitions and publications organized after his death.[19]
Theft and recovery[edit]
Tamayo's 1970 painting Tres Personajes was bought by a Houston man as a gift for his wife in 1977, then stolen from their storage locker in 1987 during a move. In 2003, Elizabeth Gibson found the painting in the trash on a New York City curb.[22] Although she knew little about modern art, Gibson felt the painting "had power" and took it without knowing its origin or market value. She spent four years trying to learn about the work, eventually learning from the PBS website that it had been featured on an episode of Antiques Roadshow. After seeing the Missing Masterpieces segment about Tres Personajes, Gibson and the former owner arranged to sell the painting at a Sotheby's auction. In November, 2007 Gibson received a $15,000 reward plus a portion of the $1,049,000 auction sale price.[22][23][24]