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Francisco Zúñiga Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Costa Rican, 1912-1998

Known as one of the most important Expressionist artists to emerge from Latin America, Francisco Zúñiga is remembered for his monumental sculptures, figurative paintings and prints, nude drawings and portraits of Central America’s rural indigenous women.

Born in San José, Costa Rica, in 1912, Zúñiga’s exposure to artistic sculpture began at the age of 13, when he worked with his father, Manuel Maria Zúñiga, carving religious figures for local churches. Spurred by a growing interest in art, Zúñiga attended San José’s School of Fine Arts, where he became influenced by classical, renaissance figurative art. After winning several local awards for his prodigious talent, Zúñiga left San José for Mexico City in 1936.

In Mexico City, he attended La Esmeralda, the painting and sculpture school of the National Institute of Fine Arts. There, Zúñiga studied under sculptor Oliverio Martinez and painter Manuel Rodriguez Lozano.

In 1938, Zúñiga joined the faculty at La Esmeralda, where he taught sculpture and painting until 1970. Meanwhile, during the early 1940s, Zúñiga’s works began to attract the attention of art critics in the United States as well as important collectors. In 1941, the Arts Club of Chicago included him as part of their “Thirteen Mexican Artists” group show. The following year, Alfred Barr, director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, purchased one of his stone sculptures for MoMA’s permanent collection. Then, in 1943, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art acquired two of Zúñiga’s drawings. 

Throughout most of his career, Zúñiga limited his subject matter to indigenous peasant women. However, he experimented with working with a variety of materials for his sculptures — bronze, alabaster, plaster, marble and modeling clay — and sought new media to create his art. (He made his first lithograph at age 60.)

Zúñiga won countless accolades in his lifetime. He won international awards for 35 of his public sculptures along with other works, and in 1992, he won Mexico’s highest cultural award, the Premio Nacional de Calidad.

Even after his death in 1998, Zúñiga’s legacy lives on. His sculptures, drawings, paintings and prints are found in museums around the world, including MoMA and the Met in New York, the Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City, the Fogg Museum at Harvard University, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., the Middleheim Museum in Antwerp, Belgium and the Open-Air Museum in Hakone, Japan.

On 1stDibs, discover a range of Francisco Zúñiga prints, drawings and paintings.

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Artist: Francisco Zúñiga
Seated Pair, Framed Pastel on Paper by Francisco Zuniga
By Francisco Zúñiga
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Francisco Zuniga, Costa Rican / Mexican (1912 - 1998) Title: Seated Pair Year: 1964 Medium: Pastel on Paper, signed and dated l.r. Size: 15.5 x 25 inches Frame: 24 x 33 inche...
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1960s Expressionist Francisco Zúñiga Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Pastel

Study for Marbles, Original Drawing by Francisco Zuniga 1962
By Francisco Zúñiga
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Francisco Zuniga, Costa Rican / Mexican (1912 - 1998) Title: Study for Marbles Year: 1962 Medium: Ink on Paper, signed and dated l.r. Size: 17.5 x 21.5 inches Frame: 26....
Category

1960s Expressionist Francisco Zúñiga Figurative Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink

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Francisco Zúñiga figurative drawings and watercolors for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Francisco Zúñiga figurative drawings and watercolors available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Francisco Zúñiga in crayon, ink, paper and more. Much of the original work by this artist or collective was created during the 1960s and is mostly associated with the Expressionist style. Not every interior allows for large Francisco Zúñiga figurative drawings and watercolors, so small editions measuring 31 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Della Wells, Parmis Sayous, and Jules Pascin. Francisco Zúñiga figurative drawings and watercolors prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $5,200 and tops out at $6,500, while the average work can sell for $5,850.

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