Julio Rosado del Valle (1922 - September 20, 2008), was an internationally known abstract expressionist.
Early years
Rosado del Valle was born in Cataño, Puerto Rico and as a young child would always be drawing or painting. In his primary school his teachers recognized his artistic talents. After graduating from high school, Rosado del Valle enrolled in the University of Puerto Rico, where he took art classes under guidance of Cristobal Ruiz.[1]
In 1946, Rosado del Valle went to New York where he attended "The New School for Social Research" and studied under the guidance of the Cuban painter Mario Carreño and the muralist Camilo Egas. A year later in 1947, Rosado del Valle moved to Paris, France where he visited museums and art exhibitions. He later went to Italy where he attended "The School of Fine Arts" in Florence.[1]
"Puerto Rican Arts Center"
A del Valle abstract painting
In 1949, Rosado del Valle returned to Puerto Rico, were he worked in the Grafic Arts Division of Community Education. He was also named resident artist of the University of Puerto Rico. In 1950, he was the co-founder, along with Torres Martino, Lorenzo Homar, Felix Rodriguez Baez and Rafael Tufino, of the "Puerto Rican Arts Center".[2]
In 1952, he won a gold medal for mural painting in New York, sponsored by the Architectural League of New York and in 1957, Rosado del Valle was awarded a scholarship from the Guggenheim Memorial Fundation. In 1965, Rosado del Valle won a gold medal for his art work, from the "Friends of Puerto Rico Society of New York". His work has been categorized as abstract expressionism and has been recognized locally and internationally.[3]
Exhibitions
In 1967, Rosado del Valle represented Puerto Rico in the "Latin-American Art Exhibition" celebrated in the Palace of Beautiful Arts in Mexico. In 1998, he won the art and culture award from the "New York State Puerto Rican Hispanic Task Force Conference". Rosado del Valle has had many international and local exhibits, including in The Museum of Art of Ponce (1982), The Museum of Contemporary Art (1988) and The Luigi Marrozzini Galary (1993) in San Juan, Puerto Rico and in the United States and Europe.[1]
Later years
In the year 2002, a fire completely destroyed a warehouse in Carolina in which he had stored hundreds of his paintings. The University of Puerto Rico bestowed upon him an honorary Doctorate Degree in Humanities in 2004. Julio Rosado del Valle is 82 years old and he still gets up every morning and paints in his house, which is located in Guaynabo and then he goes to his paint shop in Cataño to work.[3]
He died in San Juan, Puerto Rico in September, 2008. A retrospective of his work opened at the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico (MAPR) in late 2008.[4]
See also
In the year 2000, a fire completely destroyed a warehouse in Carolina in which he had stored hundreds of his paintings. The University of Puerto Rico bestowed upon him an honorary Doctorate Degree in Humanities in 2004. Julio Rosado del Valle died in San Juan, Puerto Rico on September 20, 2008. A retrospective of his work opened at the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico (MAPR) in January 2009.
References
External links
