News	News category

Sale of Tamayo painting sets new record for Latin American art

30.05.2008 20:00 Arts - Source: cbc.ca

In a sale described as "historic" by Christie's auction house, Mexican painter Rufino Tamayo's Troubadour sold for $7.2 million US in New York on Wednesday.

It set a world auction record for Latin American art, eclipsing the previous record of $4.6 million set for Frida Kahlo's Roots in 2006. The previous high price paid for a Tamayo painting was $2.59 million US.

Tamayo, a Zapotec Indian who was a contemporary of Diego Rivera and Kahlo, experimented with modern art styles such as expressionism and Cubism but kept his work free of political content.

He is known for using the strong vibrant colours of his native Oaxaca. He lived in New York and Paris before returning to Mexico in 1959. Tamayo died in 1991.

Troubador, painted in 1945, shows a musician strumming a guitar as two women watch.

It last changed hands 40 years ago, when it was donated to Randolph College in Lynchberg, Va. The college is selling it to raise money for an endowment.

"This Tamayo is one of those things you only see once in a generation," said Virgilio Garza, head of Latin American art for Christie's.

Works by 145 other Latin American artists, including Fernando Botero, Leonora Carrington, Claudio Bravo, Alfredo Ramos Martinez and Mario Carreno, were auctioned over a two-day period.

Story Tools: E-MAIL | PRINT | Text Size: S M L XL | REPORT TYPO | SEND YOUR FEEDBACK

More Art & Design Headlines

Krieghoff bought for $1 sells at auction for $68,470A painting bought for just 50 pence ($1 Cdn) in Glasgow in the 1970s has turned out to be a Cornelius Krieghoff and sold Thursday for $68,470.Sale of Tamayo painting sets new record for Latin American artIn a sale described as "historic" by Christie's auction house, Mexican painter Rufino Tamayo's Troubadour sold for $7.2 million US in New York on Wednesday.Toronto's Art Gallery of Ontario to reopen Nov. 14Toronto's Art Gallery of Ontario will reopen to the public Nov. 14 after a redesign by celebrity architect Frank Gehry.Experts to avoid Shakespeare's 'curse' in restoring tombstoneWilliam Shakespeare's tombstone is to have a makeover, but the renovators are under strict orders not to disturb the bard's bones.Thieves snatch bronze from 7 Ottawa-area monuments Bronze plaques, medallions and other pieces worth $25,000 have been stolen from seven Ottawa-area monuments in the past two months, mostly in the city's core.

More Arts Headlines

All eyes watching for latest Jolie-Pitt additionsHas she or hasn't she? Two major U.S. entertainment outlets have issued conflicting reports about Angelina Jolie giving birth to twins in France. Radiohead to Prince: unblock videos of Creep cover shot at CoachellaAfter word spread that Prince covered Radiohead's Creep at Coachella, the tens of thousands who couldn't be there ran to YouTube for a peek. Everyone was quickly denied, even Radiohead.Arson investigators called to probe fire at rapper 50 Cent's estateFire officials who extinguished a suspicious early-morning fire at rapper 50 Cent's Long Island home owned have called arson squad officials to investigate.Krieghoff bought for $1 sells at auction for $68,470A painting bought for just 50 pence ($1 Cdn) in Glasgow in the 1970s has turned out to be a Cornelius Krieghoff and sold Thursday for $68,470.Few MPs attend special Ottawa screening of controversial filmOnly a handful of MPs and senators showed up for a special pre-release screening of a film driving the controversy over a Conservative bill that would deny tax credits to Canadian movies and TV shows that the government deems offensive.