Lot 19765: EMILIO CRUZ (American b. 1937)

EMILIO CRUZ (American b. 1937)
Decadence #2, c. 1966
Crayon on paper
20.25in. x 15.5in. (sight size)
Signed lower right: Emilio Cruz
Verso label inscribed: title: Decadence #2 ca. 1966/ artist: Emilio Cruz/ medium: crayon/ size: 20 1/4 x 15 1/2 inches/ price $5000/ America's Pre-eminent black artist

Emilio Cruz, an African-American artist of Cuban descent, was associated in the mid-1960s with such figurative painters as Bob Thompson, Jan Maller and Lester Johnson. He credits an amalgam of influences - among them Latin American, African, Egyptian and Native American art. His artwork is housed in the Smithsonian Museum.