Rodolfo Morales (Mexican, 1925-2001) WOMAN WITH SEATED DOG

Lot description

Rodolfo Morales (Mexican, 1925-2001) WOMAN WITH SEATED DOG oil on board signed lower right h:17.75 w:10 in. Provenance: Arte de Oaxaca Galería, Mexico; Private collection Rodolfo Morales was a Mexican artist born in 1925 into a working class family in the small town of Ocotlán de Morelos. With an interest in drawing at a young age, Morales began his career as an art teacher and drawing instructor at the Escuela Nacional Preparatoria in Mexico City. In 1954, he painted his first mural for the Municipal Palace in Oaxaca. He continued painting throughout his life without much recognition until 1975 when he met prominent Mexican painter Rufino Tamayo at his exhibition opening in Cuernavaca, who recognised his talent and introduced Morales to the international art world. From then on his works were featured in major group shows and exhibitions internationally, in the US and Europe. By 1985 Morales was able to give up his teaching job and focus exclusively on his art. In 1996, a retrospective of his work was shown at the Mexican Museum in San Francisco which eventually toured all over the United States. His colourful oeuvre incorporates aspects of his Zapotec heritage, symbols of Mexican rural society and indigenous culture and folklore. Morales paid particular attention to Mexican women in different scenes engaging in daily chores and other activities. In 1992 he set up his own cultural foundation, funded by sales of his own work, to support the renovation of churches and community spaces in his hometown. His paintings can be found in the Museum of Latin American Art, California and the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo of Monterrey.