Artist
MAOTIMA (Uruguayan, active 1951–1956)Uruguayan, active 1951–1956
DesignerDesigned by
Joaquín Torres-García (Uruguayan, 1874–1949)Uruguayan, 1874–1949
CultureUruguayan
Titles
- Tapiz
- Tapestry
Datec. 1951
MediumWool and cotton
DimensionsOverall: 72 13/16 × 57 5/16 in. (185 × 145.5 cm)
Other (Cleat): 58 1/4 × 3 1/16 × 9/16 in. (148 × 7.7 × 1.5 cm)
Other (Cleat): 58 1/4 × 3 1/16 × 9/16 in. (148 × 7.7 × 1.5 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the 2019 Latin American Experience Gala and Auction
Object number2020.213
Current Location
The Nancy and Rich Kinder Building
Gallery 205
On view
Explore Further
Department
Latin American ArtObject Type
Although TTG members explored carpentry, metalwork, and
ceramics, weaving was considered “women’s work.” This led to the creation of
the female collective MAOTIMA (an acronym for Manolita, Otilia, Ifigenia, and
María Angélica) in 1951. Steered by Manolita and Ifigenia, Torres-García’s wife
and youngest daughter, the artists embroidered and wove in tandem with the
workshop’s production. This tapestry is based on the master’s painting Composición universal (Universal Composition)
(1937), now in the collection of the Centre Pompidou.
ProvenanceManolita P. de Torres-Garcia; [Cecilia de Torres, Ltd., New York]; purchased by MFAH, 2020.
Exhibition History2015-2016 The South was Their North: Artists of the Torres-Garcia Workshop, Cecilia de Torres, Ltd., New York
1996 Constructive Universalism and the Shool of the South, Travelling Exhibition: Art Museum of the Americas, Washington DC; Anderson Gallery, Buffalo, New York; Museo Central de Costa Rica, San Juan, Costa Rica; Museo de Bellas Artes, Caracas, Venezuela; Iturralde Gallery, Los Angeles, California
1993-1991 El Taller Torres-Garcia-The School of the South and Its Legacy, Traveled: Austin, Texas, The University of Texas at Austin Art Museum, Archer M. Huntington Galleries, September-December 1991; Madrid, Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, June-August 1991; Jueno Leon, Museo de Monterrey, January-April 1992; The Bronx Museum, September 1992-January 10, 1993; Mexico D.F., Museo Rufino Tamayo, February-May 1993.
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.
Trenton Doyle Hancock
2020
Wool and silk on a cotton foundation
2019.692
