20 FAMOUS FILIPINO ARTIST

Fernando Amorsolo - Labelled the country’s first National Artist in 1972 by then President
Marcos, Fernando Amorsolo is often known as the ‘Grand Old Man of Philippine Ar

José Joya - Filipino pioneer of Abstract expressionism, multi-media painter José Joya
uses bold and vibrant colours with a variety of painting techniques, layering, loose
impasto strokes and controlled drips.

Pacita Abad - Born on the northern island of Batanes, the internationally revered artist
first obtained a degree in Political Science at the University of the Philippines

Ang Kiukok - Born to Chinese immigrants, Ang Kiukok is the pioneer of Philippine
modern figurative expressionism. Rewarded as the country’s National Artist in 2001,

Benedicto Cabrera - Fondly known as ‘BenCab’ in the Philippines, Cabrera is the best-
selling commercial painter of his generation and a prominent head of the local
contemporary art scene.

Kidlat Tahimik - A close friend of BenCab and Baguio native is critically acclaimed
director Kidlat Tahimik. Known as the father of Philippine independent film

Eduardo Masferré - Further north of Baguio, in the mountainous province of Sagada,

Eduardo Masferré was born to a Filipino mother and Spanish soldier. He is regarded as
the Father of Philippine photography

Agnes Arellano - Born to a family of prominent male architects, sculptress Agnes

Arellano is best known for her surrealist and expressionist work in plaster, bronze and
cold-cast marble

Roberto Chabet - Born Roberto Rodriguez, he used his mother’s maiden name Chabet
when he began his career in art. He was a mentor to many students at the University of
the Philippines

Napoleon Abueva - Noted as the Father of Modern Filipino sculpture, Abueva attended
the University of the Philippines with Joya and was mentored by noted sculptor
Guillermo Tolentino, at the College of Fine Arts. Born in Bohol,

Luna y Novicio, Juan - The Hispano-Philippine artist Juan Luna is an outstanding figure in

the singular chapter of Spanish painting's history that opened with Francisco de Goya (1746-1828)

and drew to a close with Pablo Picasso (1881-1973).

Carlos Botong Francisco - His great works include portrayals of the Blood
Compact, First Mass at Limasawa, The Martyrdom of Rizal, Bayanihan, Magpupukot,
Fiesta, Bayanihan sa Bukid, Sandugo, Portrait of Purita, The Invasion of Limahong,
Serenade, and Muslim Betrothal.

Hernando R. Ocampo - Ocampo worked and painted using the stippling method, where oil
pigments are directly applied using small subtle touches with a palette knife. Ocampo's
characteristic shapes within his canvasses are softly graded into shadow

Victorio Edades - was born on December 23, 1895 to Hilario and Cecilia Edades. He was the
youngest of ten children (six of whom died of smallpox). He grew up in Barrio Bolosan in Dagupan,
Pangasinan.

Félix Resurrección Hidalgo - was a Filipino artist. He is acknowledged as one of the greatest
Filipino painters of the late 19th century,

Ronald Ventura - is a contemporary Filipino artist known for his dynamic melding of realism,
cartoons, and graffiti. Portraying scenes of chaotic disarray, Ventura culls from science fiction,
Western history

Arturo Luz - is a Filipino printmaker, sculptor, designer, and founding member of the modern
Neo-Realist school in Philippine art.

Guillermo Tolentino - Tolentino was born on July 24, 1890 in Malolos, Bulacan. He was the
fourth child in his family and had seven siblings. Before being interested in sculptures, he learned
how to play the guitar,

Cesar Torrente Legaspi - was a Filipino National Artist in painting. He was also an
art director prior to going full-time in his visual art practice in the 1960s. His early (1940s–1960s)
works, alongside those of peer, Hernando Ocampo are described as depictions of anguish and
dehumanization of beggars and laborers in the city.

Anita Magsaysay-Ho - was a Filipino painter best known for her Social Realist and post-
Cubist portrayals of Filipino life and culture, notably and frequently portraying groups of women
engaged in labor. Born on May 25, 1914 in Manila, the Philippines,