INSCRIBED BY MEXICAN MURALIST RUFINO TAMAYO

TAMAYO, Rufino. Photograph inscribed. Sinaloa, Mexico, 1991. Black-and-white photograph, measuring 5 by 8 inches. $650.

Original black-and-white bust-length photograph of Mexican muralist Rufino Tamayo working on a painting, inscribed in the year of Tamayo’s death to a prominent artist biographer: “—. 24/91. To Mr. Jacob Baal-Teshuva. Cordially, R. Tamayo.”

The photograph shows an aging Tamayo in profile, his sleeves rolled up as he holds his paintbrush up to a work in progress, evidently deep in contemplation. Tamayo, though originally a lithographer and painter, became one of Mexico’s four great muralists along with Rivera, Orozco, and Siqueriros. Critics frequently praised his work for its pre-Colombian influences interpreted with delicate poetic subtlety, distinguishing his murals from the heavy, earth-bound works of his peers and predecessors. Jacob Baal-Teshuva is the author of over a dozen biographies on contemporary artists including Chagall, Calder, and Warhol. Photographer stamp on verso.

Fine condition.