?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 1,500 - $ 2,000
JO MORA (1876-1947)
CITY OF SAN DIEGO / GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY. 1928.
29 1/4x24 inches, 74 1/2x61 cm. The Marston Company, San Diego. Condition A-: small pin holes in top corners and bottom left margin; slight darkening at edges; vertical and horizontal folds, as issued. Paper. With original mailing envelope.
Mora was a prominent California artist of Uruguayan heritage who was well-known as a cartoonist, painter, cartographer, illustrator, photographer and sculptor. In 1998 the Monterey Museum of Art held an exhibition of his work, which they described as follows: "Apart from its artistic merits, Mora's work is valued for its historical significance. As an astute observer, Mora created art that eloquently and accurately described the western land and way of life he admired, whether his subject was vaqueros, Hopi katsina figures, the Arizona landscape, turn-of-the-century Yosemite, or the California missions." This map of San Diego, commissioned by Marston department store in celebration of it's 50th anniversary is "characterized by exquisite drawing, rich color, and great charm. Mora's maps revealed a deep knowledge of Western American history and culture. His maps formed the most important collection of pictorial cartography done by any artist of one particular region of the United States" (Picturing America, p. 28-9). Mora was hesitant to accept the commission from George Marston, who insisted on maintaining the right to republish (though he never did). Only 2000 copies were printed, and it is the only one with a unique envelope.
