-
Cosmic Ecstasy *
1974
Mixografia on Arches paper
Signed in pencil, and numbered
38 1/2 x 30 in. (97.8 x 76.2 cm), unframed
Edition of 80
SOLD
-
El Personnage *
1975
Original lithograph in colors
Signed in pencil, and numbered
30 x 22 in. (76.3 x 56 cm.), unframed
Edition of 125
SOLD
-
Femme Souriante (Mujer Soriente) *
1969
Color lithograph
Signed and numbered in pencil
22 x 29 1/2 in. (55.9 x 74.9 cm.), unframed
Deluxe edition of 25, aside from the edition of 150
Published by Touchstone Publishers, New York, and printed by Desjobert, Paris
(Pereda 123)
SOLD
-
Hombre en Blanco *
1976
Original mixograph in colors on handmade paper
Signed in pencil, and numbered
30 x 22 in. (76.3 x 56 cm.), unframed
Edition of 140
SOLD
-
Nocturno *
1975
Etching in colors with carborundum on Guarro paper
Signed by the artist in pencil, and numbered
32 1/4 x 24 5/8 in. (62.4 x 82 cm), unframed
Edition of 75
SOLD
-
Personaje en Blanco *
(From the Barcelona suite)
1975
Aquatint in colors
Signed by the artist and numbered
29 ¼ x 22 inches (74.3 x 56 cm)
Edition of 75
(P. 170)
SOLD
-
Salome *
1984
From the Metropolitan Opera II suite
Lithograph in colors
Signed by the artist in pencil
30 x 22 in. (76.2 x 55.9 cm)
Edition of 250
SOLD

Rufino Tamayo was a Mexican painter who combined modern European painting styles with Mexican folk themes. Tamayo attended the School of Fine Arts in Mexico City from 1917 to 1921, but he was dissatisfied with the traditional art program and thereafter studied independently. He became head of the department of ethnographic drawing at the National Museum of Archaeology (1921–26) in Mexico City, where he developed an interest in pre-Columbian art.
Tamayo spent many years of his career in New York City, first settling there from 1926 to 1928. He retained his ties to Mexico and returned there often, but the modern art he encountered in New York—especially the paintings of European artists Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, and Henri Matisse—profoundly influenced his work. Tamayo reacted against the epic proportions and political rhetoric of the paintings of the Mexican muralists, who had dominated the country’s art production since the Mexican Revolution. Instead, he chose to address formal and aesthetic issues in easel paintings, fusing European styles such as Cubism and Surrealism with subject matter that often involved Mexican culture.
By the 1930s Tamayo had become a well-known figure in the Mexican art scene. He lived in New York again from 1936 to 1950. During this period the various styles of his paintings ranged from stolid figures to the expressive violence of barking mongrels. He often used vibrant colors and textured surfaces to depict his subjects in symbolic, stylized, or semiabstract modes.
Tamayo exhibited his paintings at the Venice Biennale in 1950, and the success of his work there led to international recognition. He went on to design murals for the National Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City and for UNESCO in Paris. Tamayo was a prolific printmaker, and he also experimented with bronze and iron sculpture.
After living in Paris from 1957 to 1964, Tamayo settled in Mexico. In 1974 he donated his large collection of pre-Columbian art to the city of Oaxaca, founding the Rufino Tamayo Museum of Pre-Hispanic Art. In 1981 Tamayo and his wife donated to the people of Mexico their collection of international art, which formed the basis for the Rufino Tamayo Museum of Contemporary Art in Mexico City.
Tamayo, Rufino
1974 Mixografia on Arches paper Signed in pencil, and numbered 38 1/2 x 30 in. (97.8 x 76.2 cm), unframed Edition of 80 SOLD
1975 Original lithograph in colors Signed in pencil, and numbered 30 x 22 in. (76.3 x 56 cm.), unframed Edition of 125 SOLD
1969 Color lithograph Signed and numbered in pencil 22 x 29 1/2 in. (55.9 x 74.9 cm.), unframed Deluxe edition of 25, aside from the edition of 150 Published by Touchstone Publishers, New York, and printed by Desjobert, Paris (Pereda 123) SOLD
1976 Original mixograph in colors on handmade paper Signed in pencil, and numbered 30 x 22 in. (76.3 x 56 cm.), unframed Edition of 140 SOLD
1975 Etching in colors with carborundum on Guarro paper Signed by the artist in pencil, and numbered 32 1/4 x 24 5/8 in. (62.4 x 82 cm), unframed Edition of 75 SOLD
(From the Barcelona suite) 1975 Aquatint in colors Signed by the artist and numbered 29 ¼ x 22 inches (74.3 x 56 cm) Edition of 75 (P. 170) SOLD
1984 From the Metropolitan Opera II suite Lithograph in colors Signed by the artist in pencil 30 x 22 in. (76.2 x 55.9 cm) Edition of 250 SOLD
Rufino Tamayo was a Mexican painter who combined modern European painting styles with Mexican folk themes. Tamayo attended the School of Fine Arts in Mexico City from 1917 to 1921, but he was dissatisfied with the traditional art program and thereafter studied independently. He became head of the department of ethnographic drawing at the National Museum of Archaeology (1921–26) in Mexico City, where he developed an interest in pre-Columbian art.
Tamayo spent many years of his career in New York City, first settling there from 1926 to 1928. He retained his ties to Mexico and returned there often, but the modern art he encountered in New York—especially the paintings of European artists Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, and Henri Matisse—profoundly influenced his work. Tamayo reacted against the epic proportions and political rhetoric of the paintings of the Mexican muralists, who had dominated the country’s art production since the Mexican Revolution. Instead, he chose to address formal and aesthetic issues in easel paintings, fusing European styles such as Cubism and Surrealism with subject matter that often involved Mexican culture.
By the 1930s Tamayo had become a well-known figure in the Mexican art scene. He lived in New York again from 1936 to 1950. During this period the various styles of his paintings ranged from stolid figures to the expressive violence of barking mongrels. He often used vibrant colors and textured surfaces to depict his subjects in symbolic, stylized, or semiabstract modes.
Tamayo exhibited his paintings at the Venice Biennale in 1950, and the success of his work there led to international recognition. He went on to design murals for the National Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City and for UNESCO in Paris. Tamayo was a prolific printmaker, and he also experimented with bronze and iron sculpture.
After living in Paris from 1957 to 1964, Tamayo settled in Mexico. In 1974 he donated his large collection of pre-Columbian art to the city of Oaxaca, founding the Rufino Tamayo Museum of Pre-Hispanic Art. In 1981 Tamayo and his wife donated to the people of Mexico their collection of international art, which formed the basis for the Rufino Tamayo Museum of Contemporary Art in Mexico City.