Man at Work

Man at work is an original artwork realized by french artist  Antoine Mayo ( Port-Said 1905 - Seine-Port 1990 ).

China ink and pencil on paper, 1960-1970 s.

Signed on the lower left. Passepartout cm 50x35

Good conditions.                                                                                                                                                                                                                

Mayo was born in Port Said, Egypt in 1905. His father was a Greek who worked on the Suez Canal as an engineer and his mother was French from the Bourgogne. He moved to France in 1914 and completed his studies in architecture in Paris in 1922. During the Twenties, Mayo frequented the Parisian avant-garde circles of Montparnasse and made the acquaintance, among many others, of Derain, Picasso, Pascin, Prévert, and Desnos. René Crevel introduced him to the Surrealists and for a short time he became friendly with André Breton, Max Ernst, Magritte, and Tanguy. During this period he was at odds with his family who disapproved of his intention to become an artist and he continued to paint independently of any group.                                                                                                                                             The first exhibit of his work took place in 1929 at Galerie Quatre Chemins in tandem with De Chirico. The following year the same gallery hosted his first solo exhibit. In this same period, he became a member of “Grand Jeu” along with Roger Gilbert-Lecomte, Maurice Henry, Vaillant, and Daumal. Mayo continued to exhibit his work in France and also Egypt during the 1930s. He became friends with Henry Miller with whom he was also neighbors. It was at this time that Mayo became involved in stage and costume design, an activity that would continue for the rest of his life.

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