Catalog Archive
Auction 179, Lot 807

"Economy of the Pacific - Plate IV: Pageant of the Pacific", Covarrubias, Miguel

Subject: Pacific Ocean

Period: 1940 (dated)

Publication:

Color: Printed Color

Size:
33.8 x 21.2 inches
85.9 x 53.8 cm
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This is one of the six plates from Miguel Covarrubias' terrific "Pageant of the Pacific" portfolio, based on murals he painted for the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco. Covarrubias (1904-1957) was a Mexican painter, illustrator, filmmaker, and anthropologist who was referred to as Mexico's Renaissance Man. Each of his world's fair map murals had a different theme: peoples of the Pacific, flora and fauna of the ocean, art forms of the region, etc. This sheet looks at the economy of the Pacific, highlighting the various resources and industries in Asia, Australia, and the Americas. A key at bottom indicates agricultural practices, crops, livestock, and natural resources. In Siberia, there are plenty of reindeer, furs, and lumber; in Southeast Asia, rice, rubber, and oil are major products; Australia is filled with sheep and cattle; California produces movies, oil, fruit, vegetables, and wine; a big cigar marks Cuba; in Brazil, products of note include yerba mate, coffee, and diamonds. Below the title there is a collection of fruits and fish, and an anthropomorphic sun hides behind a storm cloud and under a rainbow in the Pacific. Copyrighted by the San Francisco Bay Exposition Company, published by Pacific House. Lithography by the H.S. Crocker Company, Inc. and Schwabacher-Frey Company.

References: cf. Hornsby (Picturing America) #102; Manasek, Griggs & Griggs, p. 303.

Condition: B+

On a lightly toned sheet.

Estimate: $200 - $230

Sold for: $110

Closed on 9/16/2020

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