Large Charcoal Portrait Girl Writing Letter La Pensadora the Thinker Puerto Rico by Juan De Prey, 1930

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A large portrait by the celebrated Puerto-Rican American muralist artist Juan De'Prey (1904-1962), signed & titled "La Pensadora" (The Thinker), … Read more A large portrait by the celebrated Puerto-Rican American muralist artist Juan De'Prey (1904-1962), signed & titled "La Pensadora" (The Thinker), circa 1930.

This painting is by one of Puerto Rico's most collected artists, De'Prey was an outsider artist and also considered a modernist, aside from being a muralist he painted works in oils and acrylics.
This picture is finely rendered in charcoal and mixed media on paper, it depicts a young woman sitting and writing a letter. The painting is signed and titled on the back, "La Pensadora / Juan de Prey". The picture is housed in the original frame under non-reflective museum glass, excellent condition and ready to hang on your wall.
This work is part of a larger collection of works by the artist, Bloomsbury acquired the collection directly from De' Prey's granddaughter

Juan de'Prey was born in Haiti in 1904, born Gean Deriberprey, the artist likely shortened his name to make it easier for people to remember. When interviewed De'Prey would often say that he was born in Puerto Rico in 1904. He told people that his mother died after giving birth to his younger sister Rose, and that his father, faced with a brood of children to raise as a widower, had parceled out his children to relatives and friends. De'Prey was supposedly given to a "woman of Indian ancestry, a laundress" who raised him in Puerto Rico. U.S. census records actually paint a different picture. The 1910 United States census performed in Puerto Rico after the take over of the Island by the United States shows that the family name was indeed Deriberprey, and that Juan's father was a Frenchman who had immigrated to Puerto Rico from Haiti in 1909 just months before the census. Listed on the census are Juan's father Louis, older brothers Alfonso, Etien and Pierre and younger sister Rose. Juan is listed as "Gean" the Spanish spelling for the French "Jean". His place of birth is listed as "Haiti". Between April 1925 through April 1929 he sailed at least 6 times between San Juan, Puerto Rico and New York. It is important to note that Jean was now "Juan". After almost two decades growing up and living in Puerto Rico Juan had obviously partially assimilated into Puerto Rican culture changing his first name to the Spanish "Juan", and and no longer identifying himself as the French\Haitian "Jean". Perhaps arriving in Puerto Rico while still a child of only six years old helped Juan to make this assimilation.
According to Juan's daughter Mary and brother Walter, Juan arrived in New York City for good in 1929 possibly jumping ship on his last trip in 1929. Recently uncovered documents show that Juan Deriberprey does appear on an index of alien crewman who were discharged or deserted their ships on September 5, 1927 and October 31, 1927. Juan would have been 23 years of age. Juan took to New York City life and took on many odd jobs. When he worked as an elevatorman in an apartment building, it is said that he would hang his artworks one at a time in the elevator, and sell them to residents and visitors that shared the space with him for a time as a one meter square gallery. Charmingly, this was effective for him and he sold a number of works this way.
In the 1930s he held his first exhibitions in New York City. Juan De'Prey was a well reviewed artist who exhibited regularly during his lifetime. He was known more in New York City than in Puerto Rico during his active period, and was relatively well received by critics and was a pioneer among New York City Latinos. The earliest appearance in newspapers about his work are from El Diario La Prensa and is dated June 10th, 1939. It is titled "Grupo de Artistas Hispanos Exhibe en el Village" (A Group of Hispanic Artists Exhibit in the Village) and mentions the Greenwich Village Art Show on Sullivan Street between 3rd and 4th streets. Two early Latin artist groups that he helped form, or was a part of, were "Pro Art Group" which was formed in 1934 with Mexican artist Miguel Angel de Leo, and in 1938 Juan was a part of "The Latin American Group of NYC" headed by Spanish painter Orencio Mira. At the request of Marcia Matthews, it was with this group that Juan reluctantly showed his work at the Spring 1939 Washington Square Art Show, during which notably Juan sold all of his works, and one was selected by Spanish sculptor Jose de Creeft as a first prize winner.
Juan de'Prey has left as a legacy the achievement of an outsider artist and immigrant who made success as an artist in New York City and continuously and admirably pursued his dream of being an artist and creating works despite having hard work laborious jobs throughout his young life. He was successful in achieving his dream and developed a noteworthy and celebrated style underivative of others or stylistic movements of his time. Juan De'Prey died of an embolism at his home, 34 Hicks Street in Brooklyn. He was 58 years old, leaving behind a large body of work spread throughout the world, both in fine art museums & private collections. He has been classed with the Mexican school of Diego Rivera. Reproductions of his "Madonna and Child" are popular in Puerto Rico. Mr. De'Prey held three one man-shows at the Galérie St. Etienne and also exhibited at the Whitney Museum of Modern Art, Riverside Museum and Galeria Sudamericana as well as the Beau Monde Galleries.

At sight measurements are 23.5 " in width and 40" in height.

The words on the letter which 'la pensadora' is writing:
"una de los peores enemigo del hombre ...[?]... los celo...[?]... Los selos pertenecen mas á quienes llenan sus corazones de vanidad que al mon, la vanidad es par te de lo [?]..."
translated in English as,
"one of the worst enemies of man...[?]... jealousy ...[?]... Jealousy belongs more to those who fill their hearts with vanity than to the world, vanity is part of [?]... See less