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.