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Rufino Tamayo

Born : 1899Died : 1991Documented citizenships : Mexico

Pre-Columbian heritage and pictorial experiment meet in the work of the Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo (1899–1991). His employment in the ethnographic drawing department of the National Museum of Archaeology from 1921 nourished his interest in ancient objects. He nevertheless developed a personal language, open to European experimentation and distinct from the explicitly political commitments of some muralists. This approach extends across easel painting and monumental commissions. Duality, created in 1964 for the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City, features the feathered serpent and the jaguar. Tamayo also explored printmaking, from woodcuts to lithography. With the printer Luis Remba, he developed Mixografia, broadening the possibilities of his graphic practice.

This profile brings together identity references for Rufino Tamayo and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.

Documented auction references

4auction references
1auction house
3documented results with prices

Piguet

References include catalogue entries and available results; they do not all represent completed sales. Attributed works and special lots are excluded from the priced results.

Works recorded at auction

Rufino Tamayo — Portrait du chef d'orchestre Igor Markevitch
Photograph : Piguet · Enlarge image ↗
Piguet

Portrait du chef d'orchestre Igor Markevitch

Charcoal

Original catalogue wording

Portrait du chef d'orchestre Igor Markevitch
fusain

Catalogue period : 2026-09-08 — 2026-09-23

Published result : 6000 CHF

Fees not specified in the available data

Estimate : CHF 6000–8000

View the lot at the auction house ↗
Rufino Tamayo — Portrait de Mme Topazia Markevitch, née Princesse Caetani
Photograph : Piguet · Enlarge image ↗
Piguet

Portrait de Mme Topazia Markevitch, née Princesse Caetani

Charcoal

Original catalogue wording

Portrait de Mme Topazia Markevitch, née Princesse Caetani
fusain

Catalogue period : 2026-09-08 — 2026-09-23

Published result : 6000 CHF

Fees not specified in the available data

Estimate : CHF 6000–8000

View the lot at the auction house ↗
Rufino Tamayo — Camino al lnfinito
Photograph : Piguet · Enlarge image ↗
Piguet

Camino al lnfinito

Oil on canvas

Original catalogue wording

Camino al lnfinito
huile sur toile

Catalogue period : 2023-12-06

Published result : 250000 CHF

Fees not specified in the available data

Estimate : CHF 300000–500000

View the lot at the auction house ↗
Rufino Tamayo — Rufino Tamayo (1899-1991), \\Composition en bleu et
Photograph : Piguet · Enlarge image ↗
Piguet

Rufino Tamayo (1899-1991), \\Composition en bleu et

Watercolour

Original catalogue wording

Rufino Tamayo (1899-1991), \\Composition en bleu et
aquarelle

Catalogue period : 2011-03-09

Catalogue reference — sale not confirmed

Estimate : CHF 5000–8000

View the lot at the auction house ↗

Sources and references

SwissArtGallery documentary note based on the cited sources. Titles, media and qualifications are provided in the profile language; the original catalogue wording remains available in each record.
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