DepartmentUnited States & Canada
Automotion Lighthouse
NamePainting
Artist
Alexander Aramburo Maldonado
CultureMexican American
DateApril 22, 1963
Place madeSan Francisco, California, United States, North America
Mediumoil on canvas board, painted wood frame
DimensionsFramed: 14 × 17 × 2 in. (35.5601 × 43.1801 × 5.08 cm)
Credit LineIFAF Collection, Gift of Eric Zafran
Object numberFA.2025.18.1
Collections
ProvenanceEric Zafran Collection, purchased from Slotin Folk Art auction 2024
DescriptionA framed painting with rows of colored dots along frame; painting is of a red, white, and yellow lighthouse and the sea with ship in background.Maldonado’s early work, such as Automotion Lighthouse, often depicted the Bay Area cityscapes and seascapes, as well as vehicles of travel. This painting, from 1963, was done very early in his painting career, just two years after beginning to explore art. It shows a seascape, with a foreboding tone seen in the choppy waters and the gray skies. A large boat is seen in the distance, and the lighthouse shows Maldonado’s interest in adding imaginary or even fantastical details to his paintings. Maldonado’s mature work is futuristic, sometimes dystopian, so while this early work captures the same tone and points toward his longtime interest in mechanization/industry through the theme of “automotion,” the style is much different. As with many later works, Maldonado also painted the frame.
ca. 1680-1700
Artist not recorded, possibly a member of the Graves family
after 1919
Artist not recorded
