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Wifredo Lam

Cuban • 1902-1982

Biography

Wifredo Lam was born in Sagua la Grande, Cuba and was of mixed Chinese, European, Indian and African descent. He studied under Fernando Álvarez de Sotomayor, curator for the Museo del Prado and teacher of Salvador Dalí.

While studying in Spain, he met Pablo Picasso, who would become his mentor and friend as well as one of his great supporters, introducing him to the intelligentsia of the time. Lam significantly contributed to modernism during his prolific career as painter, printmaker, sculptor and ceramist. His works explored Cubism and expanded the inventive parameters of Surrealism while negotiating figuration and abstraction with a unique blend of Afro-Cuban and Surrealist iconography. His iconic visual language incorporated syncretic and fantastical objects and combined human-animal figures fused with lush vegetation.

Insights

Lam's 1942 group exhibition First Papers of Surrealism, held in New York at the Coordinating Council of French Relief Societies, was organized by Breton and installed by Marcel Duchamp. This exhibition launched Lam's career in the United States.
Lam seldom depicted empirical narrative scenes, instead using symbols to express the forces inherent in all forms of life.
The Jungle, Lam's masterpiece, was not intended to describe the primitivism of Cuba but rather to depict a spiritual state inspired by Santería, reflecting the absurdity of Afro-Cuban culture and how their traditions were cheapened by tourism. This painting is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art New York.

"I have tried to relocate Black cultural objects in terms of their own landscape...My painting is an act of decolonization."

Past Lots

47
Wifredo Lam
Porcelain Dinner Service Set
Estimate $30,000 - 50,000
Sold for $27,720
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165
Wifredo Lam
Personnage 20/24
Estimate £90,000 - 120,000
Sold for £151,200
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139
Wifredo Lam
Untitled
Estimate $120,000 - 180,000
Sold for $150,000
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127
Wifredo Lam
Senza Titolo
Estimate £15,000 - 20,000
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106
Wifredo Lam
The Warrior (Personnage avec lézard)
Estimate $300,000 - 500,000
Sold for $312,500
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107
Wifredo Lam
Deux personnages
Estimate $180,000 - 250,000
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120
Wifredo Lam
Oiseau de Feu; and Oiseau de Fer (Bird of Fire; and Bird of Iron)
Estimate £4,000 - 6,000
Sold for £5,625
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13
Wifredo Lam
Sur les traces (also known as Transformation)
Estimate HK$12,000,000 - 16,000,000
Sold for HK$7,996,000
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112
Wifredo Lam
Untitled
Estimate $12,000 - 18,000
Sold for $21,250
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116
Wifredo Lam
Midnight
Estimate $280,000 - 350,000
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202
Wifredo Lam
Untitled
Estimate £8,000 - 12,000
Sold for £10,000
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21
Wifredo Lam
Untitled
Estimate $300,000 - 500,000
Sold for $322,000
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24
Wifredo Lam
Midnight
Estimate $450,000 - 650,000
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30
Wifredo Lam
Untitled
Estimate $400,000 - 600,000
Sold for $485,000
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25
Wifredo Lam
Présages
Estimate $2,000,000 - 3,000,000
Sold for $2,629,000
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26
Wifredo Lam
Sans Titre
Estimate $500,000 - 700,000
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27
Wifredo Lam
Las aguadoras
Estimate $90,000 - 120,000
Sold for $106,250
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47
Wifredo Lam
Two works: Untitled (Studies for Paintings)
Estimate $18,000 - 22,000
Sold for $27,500
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79
Wifredo Lam
Untitled
Estimate $15,000 - 20,000
Sold for $36,875
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23
Wifredo Lam
Personnage
Estimate $250,000 - 350,000
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114
Wifredo Lam
Untitled
Estimate $18,000 - 22,000
Sold for $22,500
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115
Wifredo Lam
Untitled
Estimate $20,000 - 30,000
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336
Wifredo Lam
L'Oiseau de feu (A & B)
Estimate £5,000 - 7,000
Sold for £5,000
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109
Wifredo Lam
Annonciation portfolio
Estimate $15,000 - 20,000
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