Patrocino Barela Sculpture of Adult and Child [SOLD]

This wood carving by Patrocino Barela appears to be that of a man embracing a child. The facial features are exaggerated, as Barela was known to do.The child is wrapped in the man's cape. The wood is a beautiful rich color. The figure is signed PATROCINO PAT B.

Patrocino Barela, also known as Patrocinio Barela or Patrociño Barela (ca. 1904-1964), was a self-taught wood carver. Barela was born in the early 1900s, but the exact year is unknown. His mother died early in his life. According to one version of his story, he was at some point found wandering around Denver. Barela did not attend school for more than a few weeks and was not able to write. He worked as a steelworker, miner, railway worker, and as a farmhand. 

In 1930 he married a widow with four children. Eventually, they had three more, giving them seven in total. During the early 1930s, he began creating elegant wood carvings for which he is well known today. Because of the religious nature of his subjects, he was sometimes called a "santero," but he did secular work too. His work was shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York with other artists of the Federal Art Project; he was feted as "a discovery." Barela passed away in 1964.

Condition: very good condition

Provenance: this Patrocino Barela Sculpture of Adult and Child is from a client from Wisconsin who found it in a box in the attic of a home she was cleaning out.

Recommended Reading: PATROCINIO BARELA Taos Wood Carver by Mildred Crews, Wendell Anderson, and Judson Crews, Published by Taos Recordings and Publications, Taos

TAGS: Hispanic Arts and Culture, Bronze Sculpture and other Carving, Patrocino Barela