Painter and sculptor, Ángel Botello was born in 1913 in the small town of Cangas de Morrazo in Galicia, Spain. He moved to Bordeaux, France with his family in the 20's and lived there until 1935. While in France, Botello studied during four years at the School of Fine Arts where he graduated with honor. Then, he moved to Spain where he applied and was accepted at the School of Art of the San Fernando Academy.

The civil war started which made him leave his studies and join the army as a cartographer. He eventually returned to France to meet with his family that was in a refugee camp. They decided to leave Europe and move to the Dominican Republic where he was warmly received.

The community of Dominican artists included him as one of their own, and many of the paintings created at this time were presented at the "Latin American Art Exposition" at the Riverside Museum in 1940. During that year, the Botello family traveled to Cuba where they stayed during eight months. Upon their return to Santo Domingo, his paintings were noted by the Peruvian ambassador there who invited Botello to show them in Port-au-Prince, Haití in 1944. There Botello met Christiane who became his wife.

During ten years, they lived in Haití until the 1950's when the couple moved to San Juan, Puerto Rico. In 1953, they opened their first art gallery at the Caribe Hilton Hotel. Botello stated that the light and bright colors of the tropics opened a new world for him and stimulated his creativity. During the 1960's his work became more personal as it was enriched by his new and favorite theme of his three children. The deep love that he felt for his children and his family is reflected in his later work, paintings and sculptures.

 

Source: askart.com

Works by Ángel Botello