JOSE LUIS CUEVAS 20th c. Mexican MODERN EXPRESSIONIST DRAWING 1950s

Description: Post War expressionist drawing of a figure and a creature. By 20th c. Mexican artist Jose Luis Cuevas (1934-2017).Biography from Ershler Schatz: Jose Luis Cuevas was born in Mexico City in 1934. He began drawing at an early age. While convalescing from a serious boyhood illness he became a voracious reader. At the age of ten he enrolled as an irregular student at the School of Painting and Sculpture, 'La Esmeralda' in Mexico City. He began exhibiting in the early 1950s and is regarded as one of the foremost representatives of the neo-figurative movement that emerged in Latin America from the late 1950s onwards. Cuevas specialized in incisive satirical ink, wash and pencil drawings of grotesque creatures and degraded humanity, often including self-portraits in his compositions. Although he followed the tradition of Goya, his work was strongly flavored by 19th and 20th century literature, contemporary life and horror and detective films. Cuevas found the 'Mexican nationalism' of Rivera and Siqueiros distasteful, and he rebelled against the Muralist establishment in Mexico. However, he acknowledged a debt to Orozco, whose own satirical sense was expressed in his murals and early cartoons. Following a first exhibition in a vacant lot, Cuevas had his first gallery exhibition in Mexico City in 1953. In 1954 a Cuban art critic organized an exhibition of his work at the Pan American Union in Washington which launched the artist abroad. In 1955 he had a show at a gallery in Paris, where Picasso bought two of his drawings. From then on he exhibited regularly in the United States, Europe and Latin America. The winner of many international prizes, his work is in public and private collections in Latin America, the United States and France. As Cuevas' notoriety grew, so did the appreciation of his art. In time, his compelling black and white figures, penned in hot haste as if they were apparations that might disappear, began to fetch prices higher than the drawings of even Mexico's famed Rufino Tamayo.Ink and pencil on paper with inscriptions.Provenance from the estate of art historian David Sellin, who inscribed on the back "By Cuevas before 1960, acquired from Gene Feldman (Falcon Press), did book on Cuevas, Feldman was a friend of mine in Phila. Knew C. at Museum School & had a lot of his drawings, including the aging self portraits-published a book. D.S."Mounted in original 1960s aluminum frame.Measures 8 1/4" x 11" sheet.Framed size 13 1/2" x 16".Very good condition. CHECK MY FEEDBACK AND BUY WITH CONFIDENCE!Visit My eBay Store for more great items!Please check out all my items listed on ebay.Shipping can be combined on multiple purchases.

Price: 495 USD

Location: Clifton Heights, Pennsylvania

End Time: 2025-01-29T05:14:10.000Z

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