Penélope, by Tosia Malamud

Penélope is a monumental bronze sculpture way out on Paseo de la Reforma in the Lomas de Chapultepec neighborhood. As such, it’s not one of the better known of the many works lining the avenue. The work is by Tosia Malamud who many consider among the most important sculptors of the mid-century.

• Tosia Malamud (1923–2008) moved with her family to Mexico from Vinnytsia, Ukraine in 1927. In 1940, she began study at the San Carlos National Academy of Fine Arts. Often credited as the first woman to finish her studies, she realized that achievement in 1943. By 1956, she’d held two critically acclaimed exhibitions and thereafter was widely recognized both in Mexico and abroad. Her work is represented in the Sculpture Garden of Museo de Arte Moderno and famously as the Hospital Siglo XXI. In these pages, she’s probably most famous for the portrait bust of Albert Einstein in the Parque México in Condesa. The Bible outside of the Methodist Church on the Calle Gante in the historic center is also by Malamud.

The 1978 bronze here is based on a 1974 work depicting the legendarily faithful wife of Odysseus. Other, usually smaller, castings of this same work frequently come onto the market. Her many portrait busts can be found all over Mexico City, and beyond in the wider republic.

Penélope on the Paseo de la Reforma stands just across from the Jardín de los Próceres Húngaros. The garden was named to commemorate the 1,000-year history of the foundation of Hungary in the year 2000. A work by Jose Luis Cuevas, El Caballito, stands just a few meters on near the same intersection. Donated by the artist, the local government placed the work here in 2001.