EARLY PHILIPPINE ART

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Are you interested in selling, consigning, or acquiring paintings by notable, historically important early Filipino artists? Karges Fine Art is one of the leading dealers of original works by a large number of well-known Filipino painters including Fernando Amorsolo, Jose Joya, Juan Luna, Cesar Legaspi, Anita Magsaysay-Ho, Vincente Manansala, and Fernando Zobel.

We pay top prices for paintings by this group of highly respected influential artists whose works can be valuable and highly sought-after by serious collectors. There has been an increasing demand for paintings by the leading early artists from the Philippines who superbly portrayed the beauty and quiet nature of this graceful, gentle culture. We are eager to acquire landscapes, seascapes, and figurative works by the finest artists from this memorable period in art history. Please contact us today at (800) 833-9185 or by email to gallery@kargesfineart.com or click HERE to use our convenient online form to request a free opinion of the value of your artwork.

Interested in finding out more? Explore the in-depth article “The Value of Fernando Amorsolo Paintings”.

We are currently interested in acquiring works by the following artists:

Fernando Amorsolo
Lee Aguinaldo
Federico Alcuaz
Ben Cabrera
Fabian de La Rosa
Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo
Jose Joya
Ang Kiukok
Cesar Legaspi
Juan Luna
Arturo Luz
Anita Magsaysay-Ho
Vicente Manansala
Hernando Ocampo
Alfonso Ossorio
Romeo Tabuena
Ronald Ventura
Fernando Zobel

Fernando Amorsolo

Fernando Amorsolo was born in Calle Herran in Paco, Manila on May 20, 1892. From a young age he showed great artistic skill. After the passing of his father, his family moved into the home of her cousin, the famous early Philippine artist and teacher, Fabian de la Rosa, who was his first great inspiration as an artist. He later was apprenticed to de la Rosa in his studio.

Amorsolo graduated the Liceo de Manila and thereafter from the University of the Philippines in 1914. He then received a grant to attend the Academia de San Fernando in Madrid from the Enrique Zobel de Ayala family in 1916. He was strongly influenced in Madrid by the rich artistic heritage of Spain, and in particular, by the work of Diego Velasquez and Joaquin Sorolla Bastida.

In his paintings he used family members as many of his subjects. The primary focus of his work was traditional settings in the rural provinces of the Philippines, including young women bathing or washing laundry in rivers or streams, harvesting mangos, fishing, preparing meals over wood fires, carrying water jugs, harvesting rice, barrio scenes, scenes with domestic animals such as chickens, roosters or caribou, as well as wedding celebrations in the outdoors in traditional village settings. Above all, his work depicts the beauty and tranquility of life in the provinces where activities revolve around family, work, shared meals, and celebrations of life. Amorsolo also painted many portraits and historical paintings, many of which hang in the Malacanang Palace in Manila. Many of the works depict the suffering and devastation of the Japanese occupation and of World War II. Other historical works depict the Spanish colonial era.

Amorsolo himself had a rich family life, marrying twice and having thirteen children. He passed away on April 24, 1972 after painting and sketching over 10,000 works of art leaving a great legacy for his country. He is known as one of the greatest artists in the history of the Philippines.

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Fernando Zobel

Fernando Zobel de Ayala was one of the most dynamic and expressive modernist painters in the Philippines during the 20th century. He was the son of Enrique Zobel de Ayala and Fermina Montojo Y Torrontegui. As a young man he studied fine art with the renowned early Philippine impressionist painter, Fernando Amorsolo. Enrique Zobel de Ayala was instrumental in the career of Amorsolo as his patron and mentor.

Shortly after World War II, Zobel attended Harvard University and graduated in 1949 after studying literature and history. Thereafter, he remained in Boston and worked as a curator at the Houghton Library. By the mid 1950s, Zobel was heavily influenced by the abstract art movement, in particular, after visiting the Rhode Island School of Design in 1954 and seeing an exhibition of Mark Rothko paintings. Thereafter, he focused on developing his own form of abstract expressionism. Returning to Manila, Zobel promoted the modern art movement in the Philippines. He was president of the Philippine Art Association and had regular exhibitions. It was at this time that he began painting using a syringe to create a sense of dynamism in his canvases. His first works of this genre were titled his Saetas series, to be followed in 1959 by his Series Negra, which evoked the impression of movement and energy in his paintings.

After 1962 Zobel moved to Spain where he had studios in Madrid, Seville and Cuenca. In 1967 the Ayala Foundation established the Ayala Museum in Makati City. The museum displays many of Zobel’s finest works, his various art supplies and other historical artifacts from his career. The museum also displays fine ceramics and tapestries as well as a renowned exhibition of gold artifacts from early Philippine history. Zobel passed away in Rome in 1984. His work is in the permanent collection of many major museums and private collections including the Ayala Museum, the New York Public Library, the Fogg art Museum at Harvard University, the Museo de Arte Abstracto, Seville, Spain, the Museum of Fine Art in Boston, the National Museum of the Philippines in Manila, the Biblioteca Nacional in Madrid, amongst many other institutions. His work was extensively exhibited including exhibitions in Paris, Cuenca, Seville, Bilbao, New York and Manila.

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Anita Magsaysay-Ho

Anita Magsaysay-Ho was an important and influential Philippine artist who helped to encourage and support the development of Modern Art and Neo-Realist painting in her country. Born in Manila in 1914, she went on to study at the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts with Fabian de la Rosa and acclaimed Filipino painter Fernando Amorsolo. She later traveled to the United States and was a student at both the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan and the Art Students League in New York.

Along with other celebrated Filipino artists of the Modern Art era, including Vicente Manansala and Fernando Zobel, she and her peers broke away in the 1950's from the constraints of the previous more conservative artistic trends. Her paintings evolved and headed more towards Modernism as she experimented with cubist distortion and a more stylized look. Throughout her life, her works frequently celebrated and were inspired by strong, beautiful Philippine women working at everyday tasks such as harvesting crops, washing clothes, and cooking meals for their families. The artist traveled extensively with her husband, Robert Ho, moved over 40 times to a variety of countries, and raised five children.

Magsaysay-Ho's artistic career was long and successful and her works earned many awards during her lifetime, including first Prize in the 1950 Manila Grand Opera House Exhibition. In 1999 one of her paintings sold for a record high price at the time for a living Filipino artist. She lived to the age of 97 and died in her birthplace, the city of Manila.

For additional information about this fascinating artist, please visit:

Figuration Feminine - Paintings of Women by Women

Wikipedia: Anita Magsaysay-Ho