diego RIVERA
"Diego Rivera's SIGNED MoMA Exhibition Shipping/Inventory Contract", 1931
For His Solo Exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art NYC, Exhibition Inventory Fourteen pages, Mexico City Mexico, 5th of November 1931, 8.5 x 12.5 in. with Original 1931 MoMA Catalogue, COA from John Reznikoff included (University Stamp Company).
An American Consular Service document titled "Declaration in Connection with Painting, Etc. and Sculptures." Signed by Diego Rivera at the center of the document. Also included is the Invoice of Merchandise of "Paintings, drawings, and lithomontages shipped by Francis Flynn Paine of New York to Museum Modern Art of New York for account of Exhibition, to be shipped by R.R. and Boat." 12 typed pages (see pics) in Spanish list the artwork to be shipped. It includes oils, drawings, lit montages and watercolors to be shipped to New York. Declared value of shipment USD 51,425.
Condition:
Excellent- Smoothed folds with some creasing at corners (see pics).
Provenance:
-Private Collection, NY
-University Stamp Company, CT
-Heritage Historical Manuscripts Signature Auction
-Hemphill Collection, NY
Note:
The contract was in connection with a retrospective exhibition with the Museum of Modern Art. It was only the MoMA's second ever monographic exhibition and Rivera’s first show in the United States. It ran from December 22, 1931 to January 27, 1932 and was backed by the renowned modern art collector and patron, Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, who had helped co-found the museum only two years before. The exhibition was wildly successful, marking the launching point of his career and that of his wife, Frida Kahlo, and solidifying their status as American celebrities.