On the Cover: May 2020

Our cover this month, Domingo Demanche (Sunday) by Antoine Malliarakis Mayo, sold for £3,250 at Sotheby’s 20th Century Art/Middle East online sale on March 27-31, 2020 in London. Born in Egypt to a Greek engineer father and a French mother, Mayo was sent off to Paris by his father to study architecture after college.

Although he completed his studies, Mayo had other plans for his future—to become an artist. He befriended various prominent artists while in Paris, becoming friendly with some of the big names who were part of the Surrealist movement. However, given his disagreement with his parents about his career and the fact that he attended a very religious, strict school when he was younger, Mayo yearned for freedom and decided to continue to paint independent of any movement. 

Like most advisors, and the man gracing our cover, Mayo wore many different hats during his career. While continuing to paint, Mayo had the opportunity to become involved in stage and costume design. The venture turned out to be successful, and Mayo went on to design sets and costumes for many famous theatrical shows and films for the remainder of his life.