The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 25, 2025

A drawing in thin black ink of three various winged creatures, each painted in with watercolor. The creatures are drawn in a vertical column down the page, with one at the top, one in the middle, and one at the bottom. Each creature is drawn in an angular shape with jutting horns, necks, legs, and hooves.

Untitled

c. 1947
(Cuban, 1902–1982)
Cuba
watercolor and ink on paper
Sheet: 48.9 x 62 cm (19 1/4 x 24 7/16 in.)
Jo Hershey Selden Fund 2019.174
© Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The birdlike creatures seen in this drawing recurred throughout Lam’s work during about six years that he spent in Cuba.

Description

This untitled drawing by Cuban-African artist Wifredo Lam was created after the artist returned to his native country following time spent working in Europe. Back in Havana, Lam explored the religions practiced there, especially Santería and Voudou. The emphasis of both on the supernatural inspired a series of imaginative compositions, including the one seen here, which features winged creatures marked with areas of bright color.
  • ?-?
    (Galleria Ferrari, Treviglio, Italy)
    ?-?
    Private Collection, Paris, France
    ?-2019
    (Galerie Boulakia, Paris, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH)
    September 9, 2019
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Wifredo Lam: Cuba, Italia, Un precorso. Exh. Cat. Milan: Galleria Gruppo Credito Valtellinese Refettorio delle Stelline, 2002. Mentioned: p. 117 and 173, no. 69; Reproduced: p. 117
    Maximin, Daniel. Wifredo Lam: L’Oiseau du possible, Works from 1930 to 1978. Exh. Cat. Paris: Galerie Boulakia, 2004. Mentioned: p. 56; Reproduced: p. 57
    Salsbury, Britany. “A Graphic Revolution: Through prints and drawings, Latin American artists helped spur social change.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 60, no. 2 (March/April 2020): 34-35.



    vvvv Reproduced: P. 34; Mentioned: P. 35.
  • A Graphic Revolution: Prints and Drawings in Latin America. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 14-August 2, 2020).
  • {{cite web|title=Untitled|url=false|author=Wifredo Lam|year=c. 1947|access-date=25 March 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2019.174