Impressionist and Modern Art

We wish to thank Professor Luis–Martín Lozano for his kind assistance in the research and cataloguing of the present work.

Provenance:

Collection of John J. Dobry.

Collection of George M. Dobry, 1979.

Lot Note:

At the end of 1927, Diego Rivera was invited to participate in activities surrounding the tenth anniversary of the Russian Revolution in Moscow, in part due to his growing artistic reputation abroad, but also because of his Marxist politics. He finished up his current mural projects in Mexico and, with very little money for travel, made a stop in New York City on his way to Moscow, where he sold several drawings and studies to his art dealers there to obtain an advance to finance his travels. Once in Moscow, Rivera joined other artists whom he had met in Paris in supporting Trotsky, as Stalin's power was growing. The Stalinist regime canceled Rivera's projects in Russia and forced him to leave, returning to New York and then Mexico empty handed.

The present drawing, The Pensive Man, comes from this period, when Rivera was trying to raise funds for his travels to and from Russia. While the sitter is unknown, the drawing represents a study of personality and psychology, an example of his style and sensibility in the late 1920s. The movement of the hand and the look in the eyes show Rivera’s close study of character and the quality of his work, as he was working to establish himself financially. In the following year, Rivera traveled to San Francisco, selling paintings to collectors there and engaging in new mural projects, where he discovered a more reliable audience in America, which helped him gain independence and stability as an artist.