Skip to main content

Main Building

The Mad Dog

1943
Rufino Tamayo (Mexican, 1899–1991)
Oaxacan-born artist Rufino Tamayo began a series of paintings of animals in the early 1940s that focused on the human states of anxiety and desperation, as exemplified in The Mad Dog. Living in New York City at the time, Tamayo was probably influenced by the animal imagery found in Picasso's masterpiece Guernica (1937), which was on view in 1939 and 1940 at the Valentine Gallery and the Museum of Modern Art, respectively. Although a self-declared apolitical artist, Tamayo commented in later years that the animal paintings addressed, in general terms, the "mounting world pressures" of the time.

Object Details

We are always open to learning more about our collections and updating the website. Does this record contain inaccurate information or language that you feel we should improve or change? Contact us here.

Please note that this particular artwork might not be on view when you visit. Don’t worry—we have plenty of exhibitions for you to explore.


Main Building