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.

Rufino Tamayo News

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Auctions

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Rufino Tamayo Artworks

Artworks for Sale &
Auction Results

Rufino Tamayo (5,666 results)
Perro ladrando a la luna (c. 1960), 1960

Rufino Tamayo

Perro ladrando a la luna (c. 1960), 1960

Sale Date: October 28, 2021

Auction Closed

Cabeza and also Cabeza Roja (Red Head), 1975

Rufino Tamayo

Cabeza and also Cabeza Roja (Red Head), 1975

Sale Date: October 22, 2021

Auction Closed

Dos Figuras, 1973

Rufino Tamayo

Dos Figuras, 1973

Sale Date: October 22, 2021

Auction Closed

Cabeza en Violeta, 1976

Rufino Tamayo

Cabeza en Violeta, 1976

Sale Date: October 22, 2021

Auction Closed

Frutero con Manzanas, 1981

Rufino Tamayo

Frutero con Manzanas, 1981

Sale Date: October 29, 2021

Auction Closed

Hombre, 1950, 1950

Rufino Tamayo

Hombre, 1950, 1950

Sale Date: October 24, 2021

Auction Closed

FIGURA SOBRE ESTUCO (PEREDA 241), 1976

Rufino Tamayo

FIGURA SOBRE ESTUCO (PEREDA 241), 1976

Sale Date: October 19, 2021

Auction Closed

PERSONAJE CON RED (PEREDA 306), 1982

Rufino Tamayo

PERSONAJE CON RED (PEREDA 306), 1982

Sale Date: October 19, 2021

Auction Closed

Man Holding a Rifle Viewed from Behind (The..., 1930

Rufino Tamayo

Man Holding a Rifle Viewed from Behind (The..., 1930

Sale Date: October 13, 2021

Auction Closed

Hombre en Rosa, 1984

Rufino Tamayo

Hombre en Rosa, 1984

Sale Date: October 20, 2021

Auction Closed

Sandias, 1975

After Rufino Tamayo

Sandias, 1975

Sale Date: October 7, 2021

Auction Closed

Dos Caras (Two Faces) (Pereda 155), 1973, 1973

Rufino Tamayo

Dos Caras (Two Faces) (Pereda 155), 1973, 1973

Sale Date: October 23, 2021

Auction Closed

Figura en Rojo (Pereda 335), 1989, 1989

Rufino Tamayo

Figura en Rojo (Pereda 335), 1989, 1989

Sale Date: October 23, 2021

Auction Closed

Personaje con sombrero, 1979

Rufino Tamayo

Personaje con sombrero, 1979

Sale Date: September 29, 2021

Auction Closed

Mujer con los brazos en alto, 1976

Rufino Tamayo

Mujer con los brazos en alto, 1976

Sale Date: September 29, 2021

Auction Closed

Mujer, from Rufino Tamayo 15 aquafuertes, 1980

Rufino Tamayo

Mujer, from Rufino Tamayo 15 aquafuertes, 1980

Sale Date: September 28, 2021

Auction Closed

Torso en Rosa, from Rufino Tamayo 15..., 1980

Rufino Tamayo

Torso en Rosa, from Rufino Tamayo 15..., 1980

Sale Date: September 28, 2021

Auction Closed

Dos Caras, 1973

Rufino Tamayo

Dos Caras, 1973

Sale Date: September 28, 2021

Auction Closed

Femme Souriante, from Mujeres, 1969

Rufino Tamayo

Femme Souriante, from Mujeres, 1969

Sale Date: September 28, 2021

Auction Closed

El Perro Muve la Cola, 1974

Rufino Tamayo

El Perro Muve la Cola, 1974

Sale Date: September 17, 2021

Auction Closed

MASCARA (from Rufino Tamayo 18 aguafuertes,..., 1984

Rufino Tamayo

MASCARA (from Rufino Tamayo 18 aguafuertes,..., 1984

Sale Date: September 17, 2021

Auction Closed

Sandias, 1977, 1977

Rufino Tamayo

Sandias, 1977, 1977

Sale Date: September 11, 2021

Auction Closed

Mujer con Sandia, 1959

Rufino Tamayo

Mujer con Sandia, 1959

Sale Date: September 15, 2021

Auction Closed

Hombre Rojo, 1976

Rufino Tamayo

Hombre Rojo, 1976

Sale Date: September 15, 2021

Auction Closed

English (US)

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