Existing comment:
Waiting Woman
1936
watercolor on paper
The Museum of Modern Art, New York, Extended loan from the United States WPA Art Program; Fine Arts Collection, Public Buildings Service, General Services Administration
When he returned to New York in 1936, Tamayo joined the Federal Art Project, a government program that employed artists to create artworks for public buildings. Shower, a somber street scene that may convey Tamayo's impressions of the Great Depression, was created during this tenure. He also produced dreamlike scenes like Waiting Woman that recall the evocative compositions of his Mexican colleagues María Izquierdo and Manuel Álvarez Bravo. Tamayo, along with other foreign nationals, was discharged from the FAP in 1937. Nonetheless, his artwork continued to circulate in federal exhibitions like New Horizons in American Art, which was initially presented at the Museum of Modern Art in 1936. |