NATIONAL ARTIST IN VISUAL ART
OF THE PHILIPPINES
The order of the highest state honor is conferred on individuals deemed as
having done much for their artistic field. Deserving individuals must have
been recommended by both the Cultural Center and the National
Commission for Culture and the Arts prior to receiving the award. Such
people are then titled, by virtue of a Presidential Proclamation, as National
Artist (Filipino: Gawad Pambansang Alagad ng Sining, "National Servant of
the Arts Award"), and are inducted into the Orde.
FERNANDO AMORSOLO (1972)
Fernando Amorsolo y Cueto was one of the
most important artists in the history of painting in the
Philippines. Amorsolo was a portraitist and painter of
rural Philippine landscapes. He is popularly known for his
craftsmanship and mastery in the use of light.
CARLOS “BOTONG” FRANCISCO (1973)
National Artist for Visual Arts Carlos
“Botong” Francisco is considered one of
the Philippines' most distinguished muralists. He
created enormous canvasses that chronicled the
mythical world of the Filipino and its history, often
seeking inspiration from tradition, folklore, myths,
legends, and customs.
GUILLERMO TOLENTINO (1973)
Guillermo Estrella Tolentino was a Filipino
sculptor and professor of the University of the
Philippines. He was designated as a National
Artist of the Philippines for Sculpture in 1973,
three years before his death.
NAPOLEON "BILLY" VELOSO ABUEVA (1976)
Napoleon "Billy" Veloso Abueva was known
as the "Father of Modern Philippine
Sculpture" Through Proclamation No. 1539,
He was proclaimed National Artist for
Sculpture in 1976 when he was 46, making
him the youngest recipient of the award to
date.
VICTORIO C. EDADES (1976)
Victorio C. Edades was a Filipino painter.
He led the revolutionary Thirteen
Moderns, who engaged their classical
compatriots in heated debate over the
nature and function of art. He was
named a National Artist in 1976.
VICENTE SILVA MANANSALA (1981)
Manansala was born in Macabebe,
Pampanga. From 1926 to 1930, he studied
at the U.P. School of Fine Arts. In 1949,
Manansala received a six-month grant
by UNESCO to study at the École des
Beaux-Arts in Banff and Montreal,
Quebec, Canada. In 1950, he received a
nine-month scholarship to study at the
École des Beaux-Arts in Paris by the French
government.
CESAR LEGASPI (1990)
Cesar Torrente Legaspi was a Filipino National Artist
in painting. He was also an art director prior to going
full-time in his visual art practice in the 1960s. His
early works, alongside those of peer, Hernando
Ocampo are described as depictions of anguish and
dehumanization of beggars and laborers in the city.
HERNANDO R. OCAMPO (1991)
Hernando Ruiz Ocampo was a leading
radical modernist artist in the Philippines. He
was a member of the Saturday Group of
artists (also known as the Taza de Oro
Group), and was one of the pre-war Thirteen
Moderns, a group of modernist artists
founded by Victorio C. Edades in 1938.
ARTURO R. LUZ (1997)
Arturo Rogerio Luz is a Philippine National
Artist awardee in visual arts. He is also a
known printmaker, sculptor, designer and
art administrator. A founding member of
the modern Neo-realist school in
Philippine art, he received the National
Artist Award, the country's highest
accolade in the arts, in 1997.
JERRY NAVARRO ELIZALDE (1999)
Jerry Navarro Elizalde was a Philippine artist.
He studied in the University of the
Philippines, Manila as a Ramon Roces
Publication Scholar in 1947. The following
year he transferred to the University of
Santo Tomas, he studied fine arts with a
major in painting. He graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts in 1951.
ANG KIUKOK (2001)
Ang Kiukok was a Filipino painter of
Chinese descent and was a National
Artist for Visual Arts.
JOSÉ T. JOYA (2003)
José T. Joya was a Filipino abstract artist
and a National Artist of the Philippines
awardee. Joya was a printmaker, painter,
mixed media artist, and a former dean of
the University of the Philippines' College of
Fine Arts. He pioneered abstract
expressionism in the Philippines.
BENEDICTO CABRERA (2006)
Benedicto Reyes Cabrera, better
known as "BenCab", is a Filipino
painter and was awarded National
Artist of the Philippines for Visual Arts
in 2006. He has been noted as
"arguably the best-selling painter of
his generation of Filipino artists.