Portraits by Alcuaz

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. The exhibit Distinguished Legacies: Portraits by Federico Aguilar Alcuaz will open on May 21 and will run until June 21 at the White Cube Gallery of the Metropolitan Museum of Manila.

In the seventies, Federico Aguilar Alcuaz set out to paint a series of portraits which he called “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 of these were acquired by the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) through the GSIS Museum. The sitters were recommended by his close friends, among whom were 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 on 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 with the company of his 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 were Victorio Edades, Fr. Horatio de la Costa Jr., art critic Leo Benesa, Corazon Aquino, Ferdinand Marcos, and Elvira Manahan. He also enjoyed painting ordinary citizens as evidenced by his famous Tres Marias series.

The Metropolitan Museum of Manila is open from Monday to Saturday, 9 am to 6 pm, and is located at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Complex, Roxas Boulevard, Manila. Its online address is www.metmuseum.ph.