Tarmo Pasto
(1906-1986)
"Rolling Dry Hills," 1965
Oil on canvas
Signed and dated lower right: Tarmo Pasto; titled and numbered in pencil on the stretcher bar: 179
44" H x 44" W
Other Notes: This lot is being offered in a frame hand-painted by the artist. There is a number 179 written in ink on the stretcher, twice, verso.

Tarmo Pasto, a noted psychologist and art professor, was also a prolific painter who frequently exhibited his paintings during his lifetime. Though he is perhaps best known for bringing attention to the work of one of his patients, the so-called Outsider artist Martin Ramirez, Pasto was a key figure in a circle of artists working in and around the Sacramento area during the post-war period. This loose coalition of artists, which includes figures such as Mel Ramos, Wayne Thiebaud, Jack Ogden, is known for exhibiting their work at institutions such as the Crocker Art Museum which holds examples of Pastois work in its permanent collection.

In 1986, four years after a retrospective was held at the Crocker Art Museum, Tarmo Pasto died and left behind a large body of work that has largely remained unseen by subsequent generations of viewers. John Moran Auctioneers is pleased to offer this work for sale for the very first time.

Visual: Overall good condition. Delicate craquelure in the upper left corner, mostly visible in raking light. A slightly raised thread in the canvas runs horizontally across the center and appears to be inherent to the original manufacture of the canvas.

Blacklight: Apparently no evidence of restoration.

Frame: 51.25" H x 51.25" W x 2.25" D