PARES | Spanish Archives

Identification

Type:

Person

Preferred form:

Ballester, Antonio (1910-2001)Alternative forms (other languages) Other forms

Fechas de existencia:

València (España) 1910-08-18 - València (España) 2001-03-08

History:

Spanish exiled sculpture and poster artist. He was born in Valencia in 1910 and belonged to an artists family. At the age of 13, he joined the University College of Fine Arts. When he was 18 years old, he made his first bust and won a competition carried out by the College in order to make the Independence Monument of Uruguay. During the Spanish Republic, he worked as sculptor and as teacher in Vicente Blasco Ibáñez High School. He won the National Prize of Sculpture. He joined the Communist Party and the "Federación Universitaria Escolar", supporting strikes and organizing artistc exhibitions.

When the Spanish Civil War started, he and other artists and friends took possession of a lithography in order to make posters that supported the Republic. He joined the labor union "Federación Provincial Campesina" and created, among others, the "Alianza de Intelectuales". He also founded the "Nueva Cultura" magazine. During his military service, he draw general views of the trenchs and of the enemie's locations. He was imprisoned in Montoliveti jail for opposing to Segismundo Casado, and when the troops of Franco occupied Valencia, he was imprisoned again in Modelo jail. He was freed under probation the 15th March 1940. He continued with his artistic career until 1946, when he decided to move to Mexico due to the social deprivation in Spain. He and his family went to Cuba on board "Marqués de Comillas" ship, and then headed to Mexico. He became Mexican citizen six years later.

He continued with his sculptural career and won the first prize of a competition carried out by the Secretariat of Public Education and the "Excelsior" newspaper in 1958. He belonged to the "Sanatorio Español", the "Casa Regional Valenciana", the "Ateneo Español" and the "Unión de Intelectuales Antifascistas". He moved to the USA to increase his economic resources so he could go back to Spain and worked in different American institutions. He settled again in Valencia in 1963 and contributed to the transformation of Spain. He worked as sculpture teacher in the San Carlos University College of Fine Arts of Valencia. When Francisco Franco died, he became drawing professor in San Vicente Ferrer High School, where he retired. He died in 2001 in Valencia.

Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939

Date of the event: 1936 - 1939

República Española, 1931-1939