Leo Matiz

Art Brokerage: Leo Matiz Colombian Artist: b. 1917-1998. Leo Matiz (1917 – October 24, 1998) was a Colombian photographer, caricaturist, newspaper publisher, painter and gallery owner. He was born in 1917 in Aracataca, Magdalena, Colombia. His hometown is also the birthplace of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. He travelled widely and sold caricatures and illustrations to earn a living. In 1951, Matiz's gallery hosted the first exhibition of Colombian artist Fernando Botero with a showing of his paintings at the Bogota gallery. Matiz was known for his sense of style including a thick slightly long hair, colored jackets, and gangster style mustache. He had a robust laugh and carried his caricatures and drawings in a folder. He was at the center of the bohemian intellectualism of Bogota, Caracas, Mexico City and other Latin American capital centers. He photographed Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Esther Williams, Janice Logan, David Alfaro Siqueiros, the first castings of María Félix, Luis Buñuel, Marc Chagall, Louis Armstrong, Álvaro Mutis, Pablo Neruda, Walt Disney, Enrique Santos Montejo “Calibán”, Lucho Bermúdez, Agustin Lara, Gabriel Figueroa, Esther Fernandez, Jose Clemente Orozco, Mario Moreno Cantinflas, and Dolores del Rio. He was influenced by Mexican cinema, geography, architecture, history, muralism, and history as well as the artists Gustave Dore, George Grozt, Nadar and Guadalupe Posada. He was a photographer for Asi, Life, Reader's Digest, Harper Magazine, Look and Norte. He had a high profile and intense dispute with David Alfaro Siqueiros. Matiz died in Bogota on October 24, 1998. The Foundation Leo Matiz was established to preserve his legacy. Listings wanted. Please contact mary@artbrokerage.com, Senior Photography Specialist.