Rufino Tamayo

- 1991

Rufino Tamayo (1899-1991) was a Zapotecan Indian born in Oaxaca, Mexico. As an art student he attended the Nacional de Artes Plasticas "San Carlos" in Mexico City. As a draftsman at the Museo Nacional de Arqueologia he became exposed to pre-Colombian artifacts. His interest in color and textured was stimulated by the rudimentary aesthetic of folk objects. Refusing to a adopt a political initiative in his art, he was often criticized by his Mexican muralist contemporaries. His works are held by such major museums as the Palacio Nacional de Bellas Artes, México, The Philips Collection in Washington D.C., The Guggenheim Museum in New York, and The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia in Madrid.
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