Rufino Tamayo

(Mexican, 1899–1991)

Rufino Tamayo was a Mexican painter and printmaker known for his large-scale murals and vivid use of color. Like his peers Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and Jose Clemente Orozco, Tamayo helped bring international attention to Mexican art. Influenced by his pre-Columbian heritage as well as Cubism and Surrealism, Tamayo portrayed vernacular subjects like watermelons and animals in a unique formal vocabulary. “Art is a means of expression that must be understood by everybody, everywhere,” he stated. “It grows out of the earth, the textures of our lives, and our experience.” Born on August 26, 1899 in Oaxaca, Mexico, Tamayo left the San Carlos Academy of Fine Arts after a year and began to teach himself. He moved to New York in the 1930s after having a falling out with the politically driven Rivera and Siqueiros in his home county. Eventually returning to Mexico in 1959, he founded the Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporáneo in Mexico City and the Museo Rufino Tamayo in his birthplace of Oaxaca during the early 1980s. The artist continued to produce some of his most compelling works including Moon and Sun (1990) right up until his death on June 24, 1991 in Mexico City, Mexico at the age of 91. Today, his works are held in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, among others.

Most Expensive Artwork Sold at Auction

Trovador, 1945
Sold price: 7,209,000 USD

Rufino Tamayo Artworks

Rufino Tamayo (5,666 results)

Atlante, 1990

Rufino Tamayo

Atlante, 1990

Sale Date: September 30, 2022

Auction Closed

Cabeza en blanco, 1972

Rufino Tamayo

Cabeza en blanco, 1972

Sale Date: September 30, 2022

Auction Closed

Untitled, 1934

Rufino Tamayo

Untitled, 1934

Sale Date: September 30, 2022

Auction Closed

Cinco rebanadas de sandía, 1959

Rufino Tamayo

Cinco rebanadas de sandía, 1959

Sale Date: September 30, 2022

Auction Closed

Retrato de Olga, 1945

Rufino Tamayo

Retrato de Olga, 1945

Sale Date: September 30, 2022

Auction Closed

SANDIA NO. 1 (WATERMELON)

Rufino Tamayo

SANDIA NO. 1 (WATERMELON)

Sale Date: September 22, 2022

Auction Closed

Sandías, 1968

Rufino Tamayo

Sandías, 1968

Sale Date: September 30, 2022

Auction Closed

Luna Llena (Full Moon), from the '90..., 1989

Rufino Tamayo

Luna Llena (Full Moon), from the '90..., 1989

Sale Date: September 21, 2022

Auction Closed

Personaje en Gris from Rufino Tamayo 15..., 1980

Rufino Tamayo

Personaje en Gris from Rufino Tamayo 15..., 1980

Sale Date: September 27, 2022

Auction Closed

Cabeza en Fondo Gris from Rufino Tamayo 15..., 1979

Rufino Tamayo

Cabeza en Fondo Gris from Rufino Tamayo 15..., 1979

Sale Date: September 27, 2022

Auction Closed

Perfil con Sombrero (Pereda 305), 1982

Rufino Tamayo

Perfil con Sombrero (Pereda 305), 1982

Sale Date: September 27, 2022

Auction Closed

Cabeza sobre fondo verde from Rufino Tamayo..., 1979

Rufino Tamayo

Cabeza sobre fondo verde from Rufino Tamayo..., 1979

Sale Date: September 27, 2022

Auction Closed

Dos Caras (Pereda 155), 1973

Rufino Tamayo

Dos Caras (Pereda 155), 1973

Sale Date: September 27, 2022

Auction Closed

Hombre en la ventana (Pereda 286), 1980

Rufino Tamayo

Hombre en la ventana (Pereda 286), 1980

Sale Date: September 27, 2022

Auction Closed

Man, 1975–1999

Rufino Tamayo

Man, 1975–1999

Sale Date: September 21, 2022

Auction Closed

Ghost, 1964

Rufino Tamayo

Sale Date: September 21, 2022

Auction Closed

Head, 1964

Rufino Tamayo

Sale Date: September 21, 2022

Auction Closed

Mujer, from Rufino Tamayo 15 litografias 1973, 1973

Rufino Tamayo

Mujer, from Rufino Tamayo 15 litografias 1973, 1973

Sale Date: September 21, 2022

Auction Closed

Torse de femme, 1969

Rufino Tamayo

Torse de femme, 1969

Sale Date: September 21, 2022

Auction Closed

Woman, 1964

Rufino Tamayo

Sale Date: September 21, 2022

Auction Closed

CRUZ DE HIERRO, EL GIMNASTA

Rufino Tamayo

CRUZ DE HIERRO, EL GIMNASTA

Sale Date: September 25, 2022

Auction Closed

APOCALYPSE DE SAINT JEAN, 1959

Rufino Tamayo

APOCALYPSE DE SAINT JEAN, 1959

Sale Date: September 25, 2022

Auction Closed

SANDIA, 1967

Rufino Tamayo

Sale Date: September 25, 2022

Auction Closed

DRAWING OF A PREHISPANIC FIGURE, 1972

Rufino Tamayo

DRAWING OF A PREHISPANIC FIGURE, 1972

Sale Date: September 25, 2022

Auction Closed

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