In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month, we will be learning more about the work of a Mexican artist, Rufino Tamayo (1899-1991). Tamayo was prolific among many mediums and his body of work is filled with variety of style and influence. Rufino Tamayo was influenced by Cubism, Impressionism, Fauvism, Surrealism and the abstraction of Modernism and Expressionism. And all the while he sought to portray distinctly traditional Mexican elements. Unlike many of his peer artists, including Diego Rivera, Tamayo was not political. He feared that in Mexico and in all settings our political dogma could turn on followers in destruction ways.

I am sharing this painting as a representation of Tamayo’s mature work. It is done in a striking palette of reds, purples, soft and bright yellows against small sections of atmospheric gray and black. From these dark corners three bright, abstracted figures emerge. This work also has sand added to create a rough texture, one of the signature features of the work of Tamayo.

And briefly, the history of this painting is just as colorful. It was stolen from a storage unit in Houston in the 1980’s and recovered in the trash on a sidewalk of New York City by passerby, Elizabeth Gibson. It was returned to its owners in 2007 after she did four years of research. During these years of loss and recovery, the value increased from $1,000,000 to around $1,500,000!

Rufino Tamayo worked to both pull in heritage and push to the edges of innovation. We can be grateful for his holding the center of tradition and value while he danced around the circle of experience and growth. May we each find our way to do both as we live in faith in challenging times. Lord, hear our prayer. Amen.

In gratitude, faith and hope,