FEATURES ARCHIVE

My mother’s name was Dorothy Friestedt. She was born on January 6, 1912, in Chicago. In the 1940s, my mother worked for José Gómez Sicre, at the Organization of American States. At that time, it was known as the Pan American Union. José Gómez Sicre was head of the Visual Arts Department and my mother worked as his assistant, cataloguing, hanging exhibitions, etc. My entire life I have always referred to him as Uncle Pepe. She and Pepe became very good friends. Pepe was the “Gertrude Stein of Latin American Painters” and through, at first working for Pepe, and then through their personal friendship, she got to know many artists. Pepe was an excellent cook and he would have large dinners with artist and friends and my mother was always included. 

She met Cundo Bermúdez while working for Pepe. They also became good friends. In 1951, my mother married my father, Oscar Altamirano and she went to live in Peru, where my father was from. Pepe gave her the Pelaez (lot 19) as a wedding gift and Cundo gave her the portrait of the woman (lot 87). 

I remember Cundo had several exhibitions in Lima because my parents would have large parties for him at our home. My parents purchased “Pareja en la mesa” (lot 20) at one of his shows. That painting hung in our dining room. The Peláez hung over a sofa in the living room. I remember it was framed under glass and when Pepe was at our home in Lima, he told her that having it under glass might cause mold because of the humidity and to hang it open aired, which my mother did. The maypole painting (lot 85) was given to me by Cundo when I was an infant. It was his baby gift to my mother. I remember it always hanging in whatever bedroom I had. It is inscribed to me in Spanish. The small watercolor drawing was also given to me by Cundo when we lived in Maryland. Cundo was visiting Pepe. There was a school art show where I went to junior high and I had a painting in the show. He came to the show. We traded paintings. He gave me the watercolor and I gave him the piece in the show.

- Helen Zayani, March 2011