Portraits by Alcuaz at the Met Museum

MANILA, Philippines - In celebration of Heritage Month, the Metropolitan Museum of Manila, in partnership with the Filipino Heritage Festival, will showcase the legacies of prominent Philippine personalities of the Seventies in “Distinguished Legacies: Portraits by Federico Aguilar Alcuaz” which opens on May 21 at the White Cube Gallery of Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Complex, Roxas Blvd., Manila. The show runs until June 21.

In the Seventies, Alcuaz  set out to paint a series of portraits of those he calls “Outstanding Filipinos.” With the dream of turning over the portraits to the City of Manila, he did over a hundred of these portraits. A sizeable number was acquired by the GSIS through the GSIS Museum.

The sitters were recommended by his close friends — among them Carmen Guerrero-Nakpil, Roman Cruz, and lawyer Antonio Quintos. They also drew up a schedule of sessions for Alcuaz to do the actual painting.

The series of “Outstanding Filipino” portraits reflects how serious Alcuaz was about the subject of portraiture. He relished doing portraits because for him it posed a whimsical challenge. It is one of the artistic pursuits that he truly enjoyed. Also, it served as an opportunity for him to meet different kinds of people. With classical music normally playing in the background, he painted the sitters in the company of friends or the sitter’s friends. For him, portrait painting is a delicious mix of business and pleasure.

Some of the prominent Filipinos that he painted for the series include Victorio Edades, Fr. Horacio dela Costa Jr., art critic Leo Benesa, Corazon Aquino, Ferdinand Marcos, and Elvira Manahan. He also enjoyed painting ordinary citizens as evidenced by his so-called “Tres Marias” series.

For inquiries, visit www.metmuseum.ph.