(b Oaxaca, 29 Aug. 1899; d Mexico City, 24 June 1991). Mexican painter, printmaker, sculptor, and collector, the son of Zapotec Indians. Apart from the trio of great muralists—Orozco, Rivera, and Siqueiros—he was probably the most eminent Mexican artist of the 20th century, but his work was very different from theirs, for he was concerned with pictorial values rather than with the political messages they held so dear. From 1921 to 1926 he worked at the National Archaeological Museum in Mexico City, and native folk art traditions helped to shape his eclectic but distinctive style; Surrealism was another strong influence. From 1936 to 1950 he lived in New York, although he returned regularly to Mexico, and from 1957 to 1964 he lived in Paris, then settled permanently in Mexico.
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By this time he was internationally famous, with a list of major exhibitions and distinctions to his credit, including the Grand Prize for Painting at the 1953 São Paolo Bienale. His work was varied in subject, including still lifes, portraits (notably many of his pianist wife, Olga), nudes, animals, and scenes of the culture and myths of the Mexican Indians. He did several murals in Mexico, but usually worked on canvas affixed to the wall rather than in fresco. His work also included a large number of prints in various techniques and sculpture in bronze and iron. Some of his late sculptures were very large (Conquest of Space, 1983, San Francisco International Airport). Throughout his life Tamayo was an ardent collector. He donated his collections to his native city of Oaxaca to form museums of Pre-Columbian art (1974) and contemporary art (1981).
Text source: The Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford University Press)
