Francisco Rodón, named Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

's most important 20th century painter at the Expo 92 World's Fair in Seville

Seville

Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, joining the 18th century's José Campeche

José Campeche

José Campeche , born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is the first known Puerto Rican visual artist and considered by many as one of the best rococo artists in the Americas.-Early years:...

 and the 19th century's Francisco Oller

Francisco Oller

Francisco Manuel Oller y Cestero was a Puerto Rican visual artist. Oller is considered to be the only Latin American painter to have played a role in the development of Impressionism.-Early years:...

, was born on June 6, 1934 in San Sebastián

San Sebastián

Donostia-San Sebastián is a city and municipality located in the north of Spain, in the coast of the Bay of Biscay and 20 km away from the French border. The city is the capital of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. The municipality’s population is 186,122 , and its...

, Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

. He studied in Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 and Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

.

Known for his portraits of important local, regional and world figures, such as Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges

Jorge Luis Borges

Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo , known as Jorge Luis Borges , was an Argentine writer, essayist, poet and translator born in Buenos Aires. In 1914 his family moved to Switzerland where he attended school, receiving his baccalauréat from the Collège de Genève in 1918. The family...

, Puerto Rican patriarch Luis Muñoz Marín

Luis Muñoz Marín

Don José Luis Alberto Muñoz Marín was a Puerto Rican poet, journalist, and politician. Regarded as the "father of modern Puerto Rico," he was the first democratically elected Governor of Puerto Rico. Muñoz Marín was the son of Luis Muñoz Rivera, a renowned autonomist leader...

, Cuban dancer Alicia Alonso

Alicia Alonso

Alicia Alonso Martínez is the Cuban prima ballerina assoluta and choreographer. Her company became the Ballet de Cuba in 1955....

 and Perú's Mario Vargas Llosa

Mario Vargas Llosa

Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquis of Vargas Llosa is a Peruvian-Spanish writer, politician, journalist, essayist, and Nobel Prize laureate. Vargas Llosa is one of Latin America's most significant novelists and essayists, and one of the leading authors of his generation...

, he is also known for his landscapes and still lifes.

The value of his works consistently exceed that of other living Puerto Ricans in auctions held between 1990 and 2009. For example, his Retrato de Medea sold for $93,000 at an auction in 1990. In November 2009, his most recent oil on canvas, Puedo Retornar al Crepúsculo y la Noche sold for U.S.$302,500 at Sotheby's New York, the highest price paid to that date for a Puerto Rican painting.

Major works

Naturaleza Muerta con Aguacate

last sold on May 30, 2007, 118x87cm oil on canvas painted in 1962

Portrait of Jimmy

last sold on November 17, 2005, 91x72cm oil on panel painted in 1961

Borges o El Aleph

last sold on June 10, 2004, 306x142cm huile/toile painted c.1975

Inés en mis Sueños

last sold on May 28, 2002, 221-165 oil on canvas painted between 1996 and 2002

Juan Rulfo o Pedro Páramo

last sold on November 23, 1999, 287x211cm oil on canvas painted between 1981 and 1983

Vendedor de Solandras

last sold on November 22, 1999, 155x203cm oil on canvas painted between 1991 and 1993

Retrato de Medea

last sold for $93,000 on May 1, 1990, 183x127cm oil on canvas painted between 1969 and 1971

Portrait of Luis Muñoz Marín

The painting is part of the Luis Muñoz Marín Foundation's permanent collection.

Alicia Alonso

Mario Vargas Llosa

Sources

http://www.artandculture.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/ACLive.woa/wa/artist?id=363

http://www.allbiographies.com/biography-FranciscoRodon-55732.html

http://web.artprice.com/ps/artitems.aspx?view=all&idarti=NzExODMyMzg0MDU4NTct&refGenre=A&page=1

http://www.sothebys.com/app/live/lot/LotDetail.jsp?lot_id=159561089