 VENANCIO
C. IGARTA + - Born in Sarrat,
Ilocos Sur in 1913. Immigrant farm worker in California until 1930.
Formal art training at Students’ League in Manhattan, N. Y.. The
only Filipino whose work “Northern Philippines” was exhibited by the New
York Metropolitan Museum of Art. Fortune Magazine featured
his paintings alongside those of American art giants like Rockwell Kent
and Maurice Sterne. Jose Garcia Villa calls him “the only Filipino
artist worth meeting in New York”. Snobbish New York art critics
recognize him as a prominent artist in the U. S. Used to hang out
with literary heavyweights like e.e. Cummings and Dylan Thomas.
Used to reside in New York Lower Eastside until his death in May 2000. The only exhibit of his works in the Philippines was held at the Metropolitan Museum in Manila with First Lady Ming Ramos leading the guests. Described as a “Filipino Genius”. by FilAm writer, the New York based Angela Tolosa and as a “master colorist” by another Philam critic, Celia Aborro. |
