Trash or treasure?
New York- An abstract masterpiece by a Mexican artist that was found in the trash by a woman who knew little about modern art has been sold for more than $1 million.
The painting “Tres Personajes” by Rufino Tamayo was discovered in 2003 by Elizabeth Gibson, who spotted it on her morning walk on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. She said she took it home because “even though I didn’t understand it, I knew it had power.”
The brightly colored abstract work was purchased for $1,049,000 by an unidentified private American collector bidding by phone at Sotheby’s Latin American Art sale Tuesday night.
Tamayo was born in 1899 and died in 1991. His early work has similarities to that of famed 20th century muralist Diego Rivera. His later work features the vivid colors and expressions of his native state of Oaxaca.
Oaxaca.
I remember getting some reaaallly good shit from Oaxaca one time.
From Wikipedia:
“You’re so ugly you could be a modern art masterpiece!”
–Gunny Hartmann
Oh wouldn’t Andy Rooney of “60 Minutes” love to do a piece on this. It got stolen from a couple in Texas, and ended up in the trash in NYC. And then it sells for over a mill! So basically it’s overpriced trash. Like so much of what’s overvalued in the art world. I still remember the “sh*t in a can” and the “pile of candy”, at one gallery 60 Minutes ran a piece on. Of course CBS was criticized for calling a spade a spade (sorry, no spades on exhibit). Whoever paid a million for that painting, did it purely because the artist had died. And it was speculative inventing. Not having learned anything from the dot com bust. Well it’s either throw one’s money away at Sotheby’s or Atlantic City casinos. With the art, at least one has something that might con another rube out of even more dough.
#5
“So basically it’s overpriced trash.”
I don’t know wether to agree with you or simply say “Heh, but if it were done by an artist with an Northeastern European name you would have praised it like a Justin Timberlake groupie.”
Chances are the thieves put it in the trash because they couldn’t sell it. It was probably too well known as a “hot” painting.
Assuming that the picture above is a good representation of the original paining, I’d guess it’s worth at least a million. It reminds me of Southwestern rock art left by the Fremont and Anasazi Indians.
I found one of my favorite paintings in the trash in a North Dallas apartment complex…
The dollar continues to fall in value… stock up on Euros, kidz — otherwise you’ll be carrying around your dollars in wheelbarrows…
Ouch, ehh?!
-PISS OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
#6, Angel,
Sorry, but regardless of who did it, to me it looks like trash. Paintings like this make me want to put off that optometrist visit a little longer.
#10
I agree with you with things like abstract art being nothing but random splotches of crap.
I agree w/ #10 & #11 – also, since when has a mexican actually made any art that wasnt trash?
lol when has a mexican made ANYTHING that didnt suck? answer: never
#12
“since when has a mexican actually made any art that wasnt trash?”
Wow, that’s the biggest piece of xenophobic/ethnocentric crap since Bill O’Reilly got his show on Fox.