Antonio Esteves was born May 17, 1910 in Rio De Janiero and died July 2, 1983 in Brooklyn, New York. Soon after arriving to America at an early age, his mother died and his father was always away at sea. He had to care for himself living on the streets of New York City. Eventually he obtained work as a superintendent at various Brooklyn apartment buildings. Circa 1970 he was seriously injured in a boiler explosion at one of the apartment complexes. As a result of his injuries he began utilizing art as a form of therapy.

His first exposure to art was a "paint by numbers" kit, which he quickly abandoned. He then began painting on his own developing a style based on his imagination that fulfilled a ...