MANILA, Philippines - Manila’s cognos-centi flocked to the Ayala Museum last Feb. 2 to witness the opening of the much-awaited “A Vision of Philippine Art: Selections from the Purita Kalaw-Ledesma Collection.”
Purita Kalaw-Ledesma was a patron of the arts and founder of the Art Association of the Philippines (AAP). What began as a reunion of fine arts graduates of the University of the Philippines in 1947 developed into a professional artists’ association. She shepherded the AAP from its infancy, particularly through the difficult years of conflict and controversy between the groups of painters who refer to themselves as Conservatives and Moderns.
Purita realized she wanted to be an artist at a tender age of 12. When she entered junior high school at the Philippine Women’s College, she enrolled as well at the Escuela de Bellas Artes, which at that time was a vocational school of the University of the Philippines, and later would become the UP’s School of Fine Arts. She had as contemporaries Vicente Manansala, Anita Magsaysay Ho, Nena Saguil, Carlos “Botong” Francisco, and Cesar Legaspi, among others. The dean was Fabian de la Rosa, who also taught portraiture. Fernando Amorsolo taught landscape.
In 1932, her parents Teodoro and Pura allowed her to go to the United States to study design at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. But upon her return, marriage and motherhood came with responsibilities she could not ignore. Full-time involvement in art had to be shelved in favor of nurturing her family and learning to be a businesswoman.
Purita, the artist, did the next best thing: she became a patroness of the arts. Even as she became more deeply involved in the arts and with artists, Purita grew into her other persona as an astute businesswoman. She had given up her dream of becoming a professional artist for her children’s sake, but she never stopped being concerned about the state of Philippine art and the fate of Filipino artists. In her life, the two — one her responsibility, the other her passion — merged beautifully. She worked for a living, but art was life itself.
More than showcasing the richness in her personal and private collection, the exhibition “Selected Works from the Purita Kalaw Ledesma Collection” reveals the character and the crusade of a well-respected and beloved individual in the history of Philippine art in the twentieth century. The gathering of paintings, sculptures, and mixed media works include the early and seminal works from acknowledged masters of Philippine art such as Vicente Manansala, Carlos “Botong” Francisco, Victorio Edades and Napoleon Abueva.
For her invaluable efforts in promoting Philippine art and advancing the professional development of the Filipino artist, Ledesma received the Presidential Pro Patria Award (1961), the Araw ng Maynila Award (1973), the Natatanging Gawad CCP of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (1991), and the UPCFA Alab ng Sining Award (2002-2003). The National Commission for Culture and the Arts bestowed on her the Dangal ng Haraya Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003. UP conferred on her the degree Doctor of Humanities, honoris causa in 1992 — UP’s highest recognition for distinguished achievement in arts and letters.
She was principal author of The Struggle for Philippine Art (1974), Edades: National Artist (1979), and The Biggest Little Room (a history of the Philippine Art Gallery, 1987), as well as an autobiography, And Life Goes On (1994).
Indeed, the Filipino art community is indebted to this visionary woman.
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The exhibition will be on view on the Third Floor Galleries of the Ayala Museum until May 3. Located at the corner of Makati Avenue and De la Rosa Street, Greenbelt Park, Makati City. For details and inquiries on this exhibition, call 757-7117 to 21 local 28 or 29.