Lot 38: Leopold Gould Seyffert (1887-1956) Cruz Garcia 30 1/4 x 25 1/8in

Leopold Gould Seyffert (1887-1956)
Cruz Garcia signed 'Leopold Seyffert / Antigua' (lower left)oil on canvas30 1/4 x 25 1/8inPainted in 1934.

Provenance: The artist.The Grace Lines, commissioned from the above, 1934.Private collection, New York, 2015.ExhibitedNew York, Macbeth Gallery, Leopold Seyffert: Subjects from Guatemala and Flowers, January 2-14, 1935, n.p., no. 4.New York, Union League Club, The Human Touch: An Exhibition of Discovered Paintings from 1909-1955 by Leopold Gould Seyffert, February 2-28, 2015, n.p., no. 30, illustrated.The present work was painted by the artist in San María de Jesús, a town on the outskirts of Antigua, Guatemala. In the summer of 1934 the artist traveled to the region after a commission from the freight steamship company Grace Lines to produce paintings of the native Guatemalan people, some of which were displayed on their commercial vessels for tourists visiting the Caribbean. The present work Cruz Garcia features the sitter adorned with colorful textiles characteristic of the region. Upon Seyffert's return to the United States, this striking portrait was included in an exhibition at Macbeth Gallery in 1935, which focused on the artist's Guatemala series.