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Artist: Fernando Amorsolo (Filipino/ 1892-1972) Title: Winnowing Rice Medium: Oil on Canvas Size: 27 x 37 inches (painting) and 31 x 41 inches (framed) Signature: Signed Lower Right and dated 1966 Condition: Very Good Provenance: Private Collection, United States, Purchased directly from the artist Biography: On May 30, 1892 a boy named Fernando Amorsolo, who was destined to become one of the most celebrated artists in Philippine history and the first to be designated a National Artist, was born in the Paco neighborhood of Manila. President Ferdinand Marcos awarded him this honor posthumously, four days after his death. AmorsoloÕs immense popularity, which grew even more after his death, was attributed to his glorification of the Philippine culture, his rejection of Western ideals of beauty, but mostly the perfection of his brush stroke. Although he lived during a tumultuous and violent time in the Philippines and experienced much personal tragedy, he chose to see and paint the positive facets of life. This decision proved to be the most admired and most criticized aspect of his work. His career and productivity reached a peak between 1915 and 1940, also known as the ÒGolden PeriodÓ. At seven months of age his father moved the family to the small town setting of Daet in Camarines Norte where Amorsolo developed his love for the simple rural life, which would become the foundation for his artistic output throughout his career. After the death of AmorsoloÕs father at age eleven, the family returned to Manila where Fabian de la Rosa, first cousin to AmorsoloÕs mother and a prominent Philippine painter, became a mentor to the young, aspiring artist. This move was pre-arranged by AmorsoloÕs father before his death, as he asked his wife to promise that Fernando would receive a superior education in art. Despite family financial hardships, Amorsolo graduated with honors in painting and drawing from the Art School of the Liceo de Manila. After graduating from the Liceo in 1909, he entered the University of the Philippines\' School of Fine Arts at the young age of seventeen, where de la Rosa worked as an instructor at the time. Amorsolo won top prizes in competitions at both of his schools. During college, contemporary Spanish masters Joaqu’n Sorolla Bastida and Ignacio Zuloaga most heavily influenced Fernando Amorsolo. Other primary influences included the Spanish people, court painter Diego Vel‡zquez, John Singer Sargent, Anders Zorn, Claude Monet, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. In 1916 Amorsolo graduated with honors and simultaneously obtained employment as an art teacher and commercial artist. The same year he also visited Spain for seven months under a sponsorship by a Spanish citizen named Enrique Zobel de Ayala, and was exposed to European modern artists and French Realists, Impressionists, and Post-Impressionists. Next, he briefly visited New York City, where he would later hold a solo exhibition in 1925. These short, but international trips, enlarged AmorsoloÕs artistic toolkit and helped him gain recognition outside of the Philippines. Amorsolo married twice and fathered fourteen children, five of which became painters. Amorsolo set up a studio when he returned to Manila and painted diligently and quickly in the 1920s and 1930s. Rice Planting (1922) was the favorite of the Commonwealth of the Philippines and was featured on posters and tourist brochures. From 1938 to 1952, Amorsolo served as the director of the Art Department at the School of Fine Arts at the University of the Philippines. He received numerous distinctions including a first prize at the New YorkÕs World Fair for Afternoon Meal of Rice Workers (1929), an UNESCO gold medal of recognition (1959), the Rizal Pro-Patria Award (1961), the Araw ng Maynila award (1963), and the Gawad CCP para sa Sinig, from the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Beginning in the 1950Õs Amorsolo produced approximately ten paintings a month, achieving a tremendous amount of commercial su