Marius de Zayas
| Marius de Zayas | |
|---|---|
Marius de Zayas (1913), by Alfred Stieglitz
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| Born |
March 13, 1880 Veracruz, Mexico |
| Died | 10 January 1961 (aged 80) Stamford, Connecticut |
| Nationality | Mexican |
| Known for | Art |
Marius de Zayas Enriquez y Calmet (March 13, 1880-January 10, 1961), was an early 20th-century Mexican artist, writer and art gallery owner who was influential in the New York arts circles of the 1910s and 1920s.
De Zayas was born to wealthy and aristocratic parents in Veracruz, Mexico. His father, Rafael de Zayas (1848–1932), was a noted journalist, novelist, dramatist, poet and lawyer. He established two newspapers in Veracruz, and it was there that his sons Marius and George developed their artistic careers by providing illustrations for the papers.
In 1906 the two brothers began providing caricatures for Mexico City's leading newspaper El Diario, which was founded by American-born journalist Benjamin De Casseres. A year later the de Zayas newspapers took a strong editorial stance against Mexican President Porfirio Diaz, and under threat their family left Mexico and settled in New York.
Shortly after arriving in New York, de Zayas took a position drawing caricatures for the New York Evening World, and he quickly established a reputation for his witty parodies of prominent citizens. Through his connections with other artists in the city he became acquainted with Alfred Stieglitz, and in January 1909 Stieglitz exhibited a group of de Zayas's caricatures at his art gallery, "291". A year later Stieglitz gave de Zayas another exhibit in which he brought his caricatures to a three-dimensional level. On a large wooden platform he created more than 100 free-standing cardboard cutouts of some of New York's most prominent people, seen strolling down Fifth Avenue in front of the Plaza Hotel. The show became such a hit that lines were often stretched far outside the doorway to the gallery, and the work remained on display for six months.
In October 1910 de Zayas traveled to Paris, where he stayed for almost a year while scouting out artists and art trends for Stieglitz. It was there that he saw his first work of Cubist art, although he did not at first recall the name of the artist. It turned out that the artist was Picasso, and, because of their common language, de Zayas conducted the first major interview with him two months later. He immediately published an article based upon his interview, and it became the first publication to record Picasso's own views of his work.
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