Untitled
signed and dated 'Matta 55' (lower right)
pencil and colored pencil on paper
12¾ x 19¾ in. (32.5 x 50.5 cm.)
Executed in 1955.
Provenance with Obelisk Gallery, London.
Property from the Barbara Walker Gordon Collection
Christie's London 18 October 1990 lot 308 Sale 3950 (London, South Kensington)
Barbara Walker Gordon, an avowed Latin Americanist whose academic degrees all focused on the history and culture of Latin America, studied at renowned American universities such as Stanford and the University of California but also the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil, and the University of Havana. Raised in the city of Banes in Cuba, Mrs. Walker Gordon grew up speaking Spanish and later learned Portuguese. Her career in the State Department where she was a lecturer and program officer since the 1950s provided her the opportunity to travel and meet so many leading figures from the worlds of politics, arts, literature, and sciences throughout the Americas. Mrs. Gordon shared her great passion for art with her late husband Mackenzie Gordon, which led them to amass a remarkable collection of African, Asian, pre-Columbian and twentieth-century Latin American art during their years. Her enthusiasm for the artists she championed is evident in the works they assembled together with her discerning eye as inspiration.
- Created: 1955
- Inventory Number: 0085
- Collections: Catalogo Libro Expo Subasta, The core