1Earth Antiques & Appraisals Magazine > Fine Art > Feature: 20th-Century Latin American Art

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20th-CENTURY LATIN AMERICAN ART   Me and My Parrots, Frida Kahlo, 1941 20th-century Latin American Art is a diverse collecting category, spanning 100 years of paintings, photography, and sculpture from various Latin American countries. It's also one of the fastest growing art markets. The best recognized and most collected work emanates from the more developed Latin America countries: Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, and Columbia. Mexico stands out in terms of international notoriety; it's the most highly developed, with the most active artistic tradition. Leading up to the 20th century, the most prominent Latin American paintings were Mexican genre paintings, including religious works and portraits. Early 20th-century work — even that of the best known Mexican artists, such as Diego Rivera and Alfredo Ramos Martinez — displayed heavy French and European academic influences. Following the Mexican Revolution, the artwork began reflecting native cultures rather than European models. Beginning in the early 1920s, as the Revolution subsided, the new revolutionary government started sponsoring murals. The social realism of the Murals Movement was the most prominent aspect of this period, but there were many artists and organized shows; for the first time these 20th-century artists were getting prominent venues in other countries. For example, in 1940, New York's Museum of Modern Art hosted a major show of Mexican artwork spanning several centuries. Later, from the 1960s through the 1980s, Latin American artists broke away from those earlier models and began to work in a more abstract, international mode — still reflecting their cultures, but in a completely different style. In the late 1970s Sotheby's initiated specialty Latin American art sales, which helped increase awareness as a genre of collecting. In addition to Rivera and Martinez, highly sought-after Mexican artists include Rafino Tomayo, Frida Kahlo, Dr. Adle and Carlos Mérida. From Columbia, Reveron and painter-sculptor Fernando Boteros stand out; and the sculpture, prints, and drawings of Costa Rican Francisco Zuñiga are highly prized. REFERENCES For a closer look at 20th-century Latin American Art, we suggest the following: Leonard's Price Index of Latin American Art at Auction, by Susan Theran. A Song to Reality: Latin-American Photography 1860-1993, by Erika Billeter. Art in Latin America, by Dawn Ades Essays on Mexican Art by Octavio Paz.

Art Cuba: The New Generation by Holly Block Twentieth-Century Art of Latin America by Jacqueline Barnitz Latin American Art in the Twentieth Century by Edward Sullivan Art on the Jesuit Missions in Asia and Latin America, 1542-1773 by Gauvin Alexander Bailey Santeria Aesthetics in Contemporary Latin American Art by Arturo Lindsay Latin American Art: Ancient to Modern by John Scott Leonard's Price Index of Latin American Art at Auction by Susan Theran Leonard's ANNUAL Price Index of Art Auctions, Volume #17 by Susan Theran A Song to Reality : Latin-American Photography 1860-1993 by Erika Billeter Usbekistan: Dokumentarfotografie = Documentary Photography, 1925-1945: From the Collection Oliver and Susanne Stahel by Max Penson Art in Latin America: The Modern Era, 1820-1980 by Dawn Ades Dali (World of Art) by Dawn Ades Essays on Mexican Art by Octavio Paz