Reverón (Belatedly) at MoMA

Armando Reverón, “The Woman of the River,” 1939, Museum of Modern Art, Fractional and promised gift of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, in honor of John Elderfield
© 2006 Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
At last: The new year will bring “the first U.S. retrospective of the celebrated Venezuelan artist Armando Reverón” (1889-1954) at the Museum of Modern Art. This 100-work show of paintings, drawings and objects, organized by John Elderfield, MoMA’s chief curator of painting and sculpture, was originally scheduled to appear at MoMA QNS, the museum’s temporary home in Queens while its Manhattan facility was renovated and expanded. But the difficult political situation in Venezuela (President Chavez on President Bush: “I smell sulfur”) made American access to art and research materials challenging.
Perseverance pays: The show opens Feb. 11. The catalogue will be the first major publication on Reverón in English
But what’s going to happen with the “fractional and promised gift of Patricia Phelps de Cisneros,” above, in light of the recent changes in the tax law?