Biography

Ángel Botello (June 20, 1913 – November 11, 1986), full name Ángel Botello y Barros, was a Spanish-Puerto Rican painter, sculptor and graphic artist. He was dubbed "The Caribbean Gauguin" for his use of bold colors and depictions of island life. Botello is considered one of the greatest Latin American post-modern artists and recognition and demand for his artwork continues to grow today, fetching unprecedented auction prices.

Ángel Botello never attached to any particular artistic school or movement and was a protean artist: he developed his own artistic style. Botello was a versatile and many-sided artist who worked in all artistic media at his reach: oil paintings, drawing, printmaking, bronze sculptures, wood carving, photography and mosaics.

The Botello family traveled to Cuba, where they stayed for eight months. Upon their return to Santo Domingo, his paintings were noted by the Peruvian ambassador there who invited Botello to show them in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in 1944. After his arriving to Haiti, Botello met Christiane Auguste, who became his wife and artistic manager. After his marriage, Botello changed his artistic plans to move to Mexico to meet with the greatest Mexican artist Diego Rivera and stayed in Haiti. Botello became increasingly recognized and critically acclaimed. His Haitian landscapes and figure studies are considered to be some of his best works. In Haiti, Botello developed his artistic career of woodworking.

For ten years, the Botello family lived in Haiti until 1953 when they moved to San Juan, Puerto Rico, where they would reside permanently. By this time, he already had gained international recognition in the world of plastic arts.