Fernando Zóbel

FERNANDO ZÓBEL DE AYALA Y MONTOJO (Manila, Philippines, 1924 – Rome, Italy, 1984).
“Field of Stars 9,” 1983.
Silkscreen on paper. Edition 3/115.
The work is part of the book *Campo de Estrellas*, a collection of 12 silkscreen prints, published by Antojos (Antonio Pérez)
Bibliography: Pérez-Madero, Rafael: *Zóbel. Complete Graphic Works*, Cuenca Provincial Council, 1999. Pages
Measurements: 32 x 22.5 cm.
Also known as Fernando M. Zóbel, he was a Filipino-Spanish painter, businessman, art collector, and founder of the Museum of Abstract Art in Cuenca. Zóbel was born in Ermita, Manila, in the Philippines, and was a member of the prominent and wealthy Zóbel de Ayala family. It was his uncle who introduced the young Fernando to the basics of art. Zóbel studied medicine at the University of Santo Tomás in Manila. In 1942, he suffered a spinal injury that confined him to bed for the remainder of that year. To pass the time, he took up painting. He studied at the University of Santo Tomás and later transferred to Harvard University in 1946 to earn degrees in history and literature. He eventually graduated in three years and wrote a thesis on the work of Federico García Lorca. Zóbel began painting during this period at Harvard without any formal training. In the fall of 1946, she met Jim Pfeufer and his wife, Reed Champion Pfeufer. Reed was a painter loosely associated with the Boston School and became a mentor to the young artist. Zóbel graduated in 1949 magna cum laude. After completing her bachelor’s degree, she briefly returned to Harvard to study law, and then worked as a curator at the Houghton Library. She founded the Museum of Spanish Abstract Art at Casa Colgadas, in the city of Cuenca, Spain, in 1963. The museum was expanded in 1978, and in 1980 Zóbel donated her collection to the Juan March Foundation, which subsequently incorporated it into its own collection.