A seldom-seen portrait from the early days of Wifredo Lam’s career has found its way into the Hispanic Society Museum and Library’s collection, marking the first Cuban artist’s painting to join the institution’s permanent exhibits. Created in 1927, Lam’s “Portrait of a Boy” captures the essence of his short but impactful period in Cuenca, Spain. Museum Director and CEO Guillaume Kientz shared with Hyperallergic that the painting recently surfaced from a private collection in Cuenca last year during Sotheby’s Modern Day Auction. Above Lam’s signature, the words “para Hugo” suggest the piece was a gift to Hugo Dosantos, as noted in its provenance.
Kientz emphasized, “What is very important for us about this painting is that it’s not the Wifredo Lam that one expects. Therefore, it fell through the cracks of scholarship and market dynamics, making it a great opportunity for a museum especially, because we are about telling the stories that are perhaps overlooked or forgotten, and this very painting helps us do that.”
“Portrait of a Boy,” like much of Lam’s early work, diverges from the style he is renowned for, which integrates Surrealism with Afro-Cuban culture and spirituality. Lam initially gained recognition in his hometown, Sagua La Grande, receiving a government grant to study art further in Madrid in 1923. There, he attended the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando and later the Escuela Libre de Paisaje, where he encountered modern Spanish art’s experimental trends and the budding Surrealism movement.
Despite losing his scholarship in 1925 due to political changes in Cuba, Lam managed to sustain himself through classical portraiture. His friend Fernando Rodriquez Muñoz invited him to stay in Cuenca, where the town’s unique landscape and art community left a lasting impact on him. “Portrait of a Boy” represents a turning point as Lam began to shift away from traditional portraiture, moving towards a style influenced by his Afro-Caribbean and Chinese heritage, Surrealism, and social observations.
Kientz remarked on Lam’s development during this period, stating, “I don’t think he was still learning in the academic sense, but he was still very young and vividly finding his path as a painter.” The painting now enriches the museum’s Caribbean art collection and complements its existing works, like Velázquez’s portrait of a young girl. Kientz also noted the importance of including youthful subjects, saying, “This is just such a magnetic portrait that so many kids of all ages will feel compelled to engage with.”
