Juan Garces Espinosa (Spanish, 1936-2014)
Signed, (lower, left)
" Lady with a Hat " circa 1980’s
Oil on Masonite
21 3/4" x 18 1/8"
Housed in a 4.5" Toned Gold Metal Leaf Frame
Outside Size: 30 1/2 " x 26 7/8"
In overall excellent condition.
https://www.austinsfinds.com/the-gallery/juan-garces-lady
Juan Garces Espinosa was born in Marín, Pontevedra in 1935. His early childhood was spent on Galicia. In 1939, his family settled in Madrid, where he acquired his baccalaureate. In 1952 he joined the Navy, traveling through Europe, Africa and the Americas. He sailed the Atlantic and Pacific, living in Equatorial Guinea, New Jersey and Philadelphia.
A self-taught artist, Espinosa began by collaborating as a cartoonist with various publications and magazines. In his childhood he paid for his cigars and whims by drawing caricatures at the Café Gijón in Madrid. During this time, he met numerous artists who later formed the Vallecas school. He formed a close friend with Ortega Muñoz, Barjola, Gutiérrez Montiel, Abuja and Carlos Pascual de Lara. They would critique his work. Among other acquaintances were names such as Camón Aznar, Campoy, Antonio de Santiago, García Nieto and Camilo José Cela, who in a conjoined effort sponsored his first exhibition in Palma de Mallorca.
Espinosa belonged to the Free Academy of Arts and Letters of San Antón and was a founding member of the Tago group (Palma de Mallorca). In 1958, he held a demonstration at the Royal Order of Merit in Fine Arts. In 1967, he exhibited in New York, and later Venezuela, Mexico, Japan and the Dominican Republic.
In 1970, he decided to devote himself entirely to his work as an artist until his death in Madrid in 2014.
