Object number2014.16.7

Untitled [Train]

Datec. 1948-1963

Artist MartÍn RamÍrez (Mexican, 1885-1960)

CultureMexican, American

MediumCrayon and pencil with ink on pieced paper and newsprint

DimensionsComposition: 26 1/2 x 51 in. (67.3 x 129.5 cm)
Framed: 31 5/8 x 55 5/8 x 2 3/4 in. (80.3 x 141.3 x 7 cm)

Credit LineBequest of Pat O'Brien Parsons, class of 1951

On View

Not on view

Period20th c

Classification(s)

InscribedVarious inscriptions by an unknown hand in blue pencil in the lower center

BibliographyMilwaukee, Milwaukee Art Museum, October 6, 2007- January 6, 2008, p. 104, illus. ProvenancePhyllis Kind Gallery, New York
Exhibition HistoryMartin Ramirez, Folk Art Museum, New York, January 23 - April 29, 2007, Milwaukee, Milwaukee Art Museum, October 6, 2007 - January 6, 2008;

Martin Ramirez, Museo Nacional de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid, May 30 - July 12, 2010

Label TextMartín Ramírez’s work reflects the difficult experience faced by the artist during his lifetime. Having left Mexico to look for work in California, he was arrested at age 46 for unclear reasons, and later committed to a state hospital and diagnosed as schizophrenic. Decades later, he was transferred to DeWitt State Hospital near Sacramento, where he began drawing in his 60s. Over the next twelve years, he produced over 450 works. Ramírez, having worked on the California railroad for six years, developed a deep, ongoing fascination with trains, which, after horseback riders, are the most frequent subject in his art. He would often depict trains emerging from mountains, slithering snakelike over long tracks, crossing a dark abyss over bridges, or running through tunnels that connect Jalisco and California– the two worlds in which Ramírez lived. Here, undulating lines that repeat in the upper corners and along the bottom edge of the composition echo the shape of the small, shadowy tunnel openings. His repeating designs are made from collaged scraps of discarded paper that he allegedly glued together with a mixture of potato starch and salvia. Ramírez’s radiating linear patterns are enhanced by the tactility of his recycled materials.

DescriptionBlack and grey composition of a train headed through a tunnel against a neutral beige background. The work is composed with simplified, bold linework arranged in patterns of parallel and diagonal, horizontal bands.

Terms

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