El Tamalito del Hoyo

Roberto Chavez, El Tamalito del Hoyo, 1959, oil on masonite, 40 x 25 in. (101.6 x 63.5 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2012.49.1, © 1959, Roberto Chavez

Artwork Details

Title
El Tamalito del Hoyo
Artist
Date
1959
Location
Dimensions
40 x 25 in. (101.6 x 63.5 cm)
Copyright
© 1959, Roberto Chavez
Credit Line
Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on masonite
Classifications
Subjects
  • Figure male — full length
Object Number
2012.49.1
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2012.49.1

Artwork Description

Roberto Chavez painted this work from memory. He recalled, "Tamalito, whose real name I never knew, was one of the vatos [young guys] from 'El Hoyo,' the neighborhood directly west and north of where I hung out. In high school I realized that my contemporaries and our environment were what I most wanted to depict in my pictures and stories." This portrait also serves as an homage to the Mexican American residents and communities of Los Angeles.
Description in Spanish

Chavez pintó este cuadro de memoria. El artista recordaba que ​“Tamalito, cuyo nombre real nunca supe, era uno de los vatos de ​‘El Hoyo’, el vecindario que estaba directamente al oeste y norte de donde yo pasaba el tiempo. En la escuela secundaria me di cuenta de que mis contemporáneos y nuestro ambiente era lo que yo más quería mostrar en mis cuadros y relatos”. Este retrato es también su homenaje a los miembros de las comunidades mexicanas americanas de Los Ángeles.

Nuestra América: la presencia latina en el arte estadounidense, 2013

Works by this artist (2 items)

Roberto Chavez, El Tamalito del Hoyo, 1959, oil on masonite, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2012.49.1, © 1959, Roberto Chavez
El Tamalito del Hoyo
Artist
Date1959
oil on masonite
On view
Roberto Chavez, Self-Portrait with Speedy Gonzales, 1963, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase through the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2012.49.2, © 1963, Roberto Chavez
Self-Portrait with Speedy Gonzales
Artist
Date1963
oil on canvas
Not on view

Exhibitions

Media - 2011.12 - SAAM-2011.12_1 - 77591
Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art
October 25, 2013–March 2, 2014
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art presents the rich and varied contributions of Latino artists in the United States since the mid-twentieth century, when the concept of a collective Latino identity began to emerge.