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.
Francisco Zuniga Bronze Sculpture, 1964, "Desnudo Acostada"
By Francisco Zúñiga
Located in Phoenix, AZ
Francisco Zuniga bronze sculpture, Nude Lying Down. Edition: 3. #377 in the Zuniga catalog raisonne. Titled: "Desnudo Acostado". Measures: 6 7/8" H x 18" L x 19" W not including the...
Bronze
Francisco Zuniga Bronze Sculpture, 1965, "Juchiteca Sentada"
By Francisco Zúñiga
Located in Phoenix, AZ
Francisco Zuniga bronze sculpture. Seated female. Edition: 5. #467 in the Zuniga catalog raisonne. Titled: "Juchiteca Sentada". Measures: 8 7/8" H x 10 1/4" L x 10 5/8" W (not including the 1 ½" wood plinth). Signed Zuniga and numbered 111/V. Created 1965. A Letter of Authenticity issued by the Zuniga foundation (and son Ariel Zuniga...
Bronze
Francisco Zuniga Bronze Sculpture, 1964, Reclining Mother with Shawl
By Francisco Zúñiga
Located in Phoenix, AZ
Zuniga bronze, edition: 3. #472 catalog raisonne: "Madre Reclinada con Rebozo". Measures: 5 3/4" H x 12" L x 8" W not including the wood plinth. Signed Zuniga and dated 1964. "Letter of Authenticity", issued by the Zuniga foundation (and son Ariel Zuniga...
Bronze
Grupo
By Francisco Zúñiga
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork titled "Grupo" 1982 is an original Mixograph cast paper bas relief by Costa Rican/Mexican artist Francisco Zuniga, 1912-1998. It is hand signed, dated and numbered 24/10...
Other Medium
Mujer Envuleta (Enveloped Woman)
By Francisco Zúñiga
Located in Santa Monica, CA
Francisco Zúñiga Mujer Envuleta (Enveloped Woman), 1973 Onyx 12.75 x 9.75 x 10.25 in (32.38 x 24.76 x 26.04 cm)
Stone
Dos Mujeres Mayas (Two Mayan Women)
By Francisco Zúñiga
Located in San Francisco, CA
This artwork titled "Dos Mujeres Mayas (Two Mayan Women)") 1983 is an original Mixograph cast paper bas relief by Costa Rican/Mexican artist Francisco...
Other Medium
$4,672
H 9.85 in W 28.75 in D 6.7 in
Else FÜRST (1873-1943), Fasane Foundry stamp of the Berlin foundry Kraas
Located in Berlin, DE
Else Fürst was a German sculptor and medalist who was murdered by the Nazis. Biographical data: Bronze signed Foundry stamp of the Berlin foundry Kraas. 25 x 73 cm Born: June 25,...
Bronze
$3,775
H 16 in W 7 in D 8 in
Woman Lying Down & Growing with Tree bronze sculpture by Yulla Lipchitz
Located in Hudson, NY
Organic, abstract bronze sculpture by Yulla Lipchitz of a woman lying down with a tree. About this artist: Yulla Lipchitz, née Halberstadt, was born on April 21, 1911 in Berlin, Ge...
Bronze
$50,862
H 23.63 in W 35.44 in D 21.26 in
Maria, 90 cm, bronze sculpture, signed, limited edition of 8
By Antoniucci Volti
Located in Villafranca Di Verona, IT
Numbered and limited to 8 copies Artwork signed Authenticity: Sold with certificate of Authenticity Invoice from the gallery Sculpture: bronze, metal, bronze patina Display: The s...
Metal, Bronze
Lampe Pigeon
Located in PARIS, FR
EDITION Monogramed and numbered: FxL; 400/900 Editor’s mark on the tail: Artcurial CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY A certificate of authenticity issued by Artcurial, dated October 4, 19...
Bronze, Copper
$7,688
H 66.93 in W 31.5 in D 19.69 in
Outdoor Italian Stone Sculpture of Classical Torso with Base
Located in Rome, IT
This reproduction of a classical Hellenistic sculpture, a timeless piece for interior and a garden decoration. Measurement: Torso cm 100 base cm 70.
Limestone
$9,226
H 26.38 in W 13.19 in D 7.6 in
John L. Sullivan, James J. Corbett, Pair of painted in color Boxer Sculptor
By Arthur Waagen
Located in Eltville am Rhein, DE
Arthur Waagen Memel 1833 – 1898 Paris John L. Sullivan vs. James J. Corbett Two painted metal sculptures, ca. 1895 Height with black wooden base: 69/67 x 33.5 x 19.3 cm Each signed...
Metal
$8,279
H 14.97 in W 14.18 in D 5.12 in
Night Watch. Limited Edition 3/5 - Bronze Sculpture
Located in Riga, LV
Dimensions: 36 W x 38 H x 13 D cm Weight: 8,2 kg Material: Bronze, patina Edition: 3/5 + 1 AP, signed on base Condition: Excellent, certificate Free worldwide shipping in a branded b...
Bronze
Brebis - Série des nouveaux moutons
By François-Xavier Lalanne
Located in PARIS, FR
Edition Numbered, dated and marked: 31/250; 1995 and marked under the mouth: Blanchet Fondeur Literature D. Marchesseau, The Lalannes, Paris, 1998, p. 37. Daniel Abadie, Lalanne(s), Paris, 2008, p. 188. Paul Kasmin, Claude & François-Xavier Lalanne, New York, 2012, n.p. Les Lalanne, Fifty years of work, 1964 – 2015, exhibition catalogue, Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York, March 26 – May 2 2015, pp. 71, 88-89 and 106-109. Adrian Dannatt, François-Xavier & Claude Lalanne, In the Domain of Dreams, New York, 2018, pp. 66, 180-181 and 192. François-Marie Banier and Jean-Gabriel Mitterand, François-Xavier Lalanne, Montreuil, 2019, pp. 40-41. François-Marie Banier and Jean-Gabriel Mitterand, La maison-atelier de Claude et...
Concrete, Bronze
$14,194
H 9.45 in W 27.56 in D 9.85 in
Last Supper. Limited Edition 5/5 - Bronze Sculpture
Located in Riga, LV
Dimensions: 70 W x 24 H x 25 D cm Weight: 11 kg Material: Bronze, patina, metal Edition: 5/5 + 1 AP, signed on base Condition: Excellent, certificate Free worldwide shipping in a bra...
Metal, Bronze
Large Gilt Bronze Sculptures of Cheetahs
Located in Rome, IT
Fantastic pair of gilt bronze Cheetahs sculptures . The item will be well-suited to either an indoor or outdoor setting.
Bronze
$32,500
H 11.5 in W 8.63 in D 0.88 in
Virgin of the Rosary of Chiquinquirá with Saint Anthony of Padua and Saint Andre
Located in New York, NY
Provenance: Private Collection, Uruguay, for the last 90 years. Dated 1673 on the reverse (Fig. 1), this exceptional relief is an early example of a distinctly Spanish American art...
Alabaster
$7,688
H 66.93 in W 31.5 in D 19.69 in
Outdoor Italian Stone Sculpture of Classical Torso with Base
Located in Rome, IT
This reproduction of a classical Hellenistic sculpture, a timeless piece for interior and a garden decoration. Measurement: Torso cm 100 base cm 70.
Limestone
Untitled (Two Women)
By Francisco Zúñiga
Located in Palm Desert, CA
Signed and dated on base Provenance: Private Collection, CA
Bronze