Internet Marketing and Public Relations for the Arts

Monday, November 10, 2008

Family wants cash after burning relative's art

Until his death in 1963, Martin Ramirez spent most of his life locked away in a California State Hospital diagnosed with Schizophrenia. Deemed catatonic, Ramirez created countless paintings in an effort to communicate with the outside world. Yet, few people recognized his talent and most of his pieces were given away in the ward or even burned after being sent as gifts to his family. The story would end there except that the New York Times called Ramirez "simply one of the greatest artists of the 20th century". So now, Ramirez's family is arguing that he wasn't mentally fit to give away the now valuable pieces. The real kicker is the fact that research now suggests that Ramirez, as a poor Mexican immigrant to the U.S., might not have been catatonic at all, but simply unable to communicate in English.
--
Ashley

0 Comments:

Post a Comment



<< Home