Antonio Luis Gutiérrez Fernández

Sevilla, 1901 - Barcelona, 1989.

His family moved to Madrid when he was four years old. After attending nude-technique drawing classes he began to study Fine Arts at Madrid’s School of Painting, Sculpture and Engraving. His academic career was brilliant, and he earned extraordinary awards and distinctions in subjects such as perspective, vestments, landscape, colour theory and aesthetic, and decorative painting, natural painting and colour and composition. He was awarded scholarships to extend his studies at El Paular and Granada.

Once he had completed his training, he alternated periods in Madrid and London. In Madrid he was Joaquín Sorolla’s favourite disciple and he worked alongside painters of the stature of José Granelo, Moreno Carbonero, Alejo Vera, Muñoz Degrain, Cecilio Plá y Julio Romero de Torres. In London he made friends with the Hungarian painter Lazzlo and entered the famous antique dealer Lionel Harris’s workshop as art restorer.

From the outset, his work focused almost exclusively on portraits of high society characters and illustrious personalities of the time, such as the Spanish Royal Family, the Duke of Alba or Generals Franco and Queipo de Llano, among many others.

He held individual exhibitions in various cities: Barcelona (1928 and 1929), Gibraltar (1934), Seville (1936 y 1938), Oviedo (1941) and Madrid (1942). Among his most outstanding commissioned works was “Santa Bárbara” (Saint Barbara) for the Industry Ministry in 1943, and the elegant “Dama con perro” (Lady with Dog) for the UEE collection which the company used to illustrate its calendar in 1946.

He crossed the Atlantic and lived in Havana from 1947 to 1959, also travelling around Brazil, Venezuela and Uruguay. In these countries he continued to make portraits of all kinds of personalities, such as Venezuelan General Páez (then at the Military Academy in Caracas) or the Cuban Countess of Casa Calvo. In the United States, where he lived until 1962, he was commissioned as curator for the restoration of paintings in the Hispanic Society collection after making a portrait of its President Huntington and his wife.

He returned to Spain in 1973, and established his residence in Barcelona, where he remained until his death in 1989.

1946 Antonio Luis Lady with dog Oleo/lienzo 64 x 54 cm.