Rufino Tamayo is considered one of the most important Mexican painters of the twentieth century, but his work as a photographer—which he produced both in Mexico and on his frequent travels—is virtually unknown. Outstanding among his photographs are those of New York, a city of great importance

to his work, where he lived from 1937 to 1949. Participating fully in the

early color photography movement, Tamayo captured the modernity of the city in vivid Kodachrome, concentrating on the skyline, on nighttime views of Times Square, and on the bridges that join the island of Manhattan to the other boroughs.