Born Wifredo Oscar de la Concepción Lam y Castilla on December 8, 1902 in Sagua la Grande, Cuba, the painter moved to Madrid, Spain in 1923 to study with Fernando Álvarez de Sotomayor, who had been the teacher of famed Surrealist Salvador Dalí. Lam moved to Paris after seeing an exhibition of Pablo Picasso's work in Spain. Having arrived in Paris, he introduced himself to Picasso who subsequently showed Lam his collection of primitive artworks. The two artists' interaction figured heavily in Lam’s work throughout the remainder of his career. He died on September 11, 1982 in Paris, France at the age of 79. Today, the artist’s works are held in the collections of the Tate Gallery in London, the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., among others.
Courtesy of artnet.com