GUILLERMO SILVA

Guillermo Silva Santamaria was born in Bogota, Colombia in 1921. At the age of 16, he studied painting under French Impressionist Pierre Daguet. In the years to follow, he traveled in the United States and France and continued his studies. He established a workshop for stained glass in Colombia in 1949, and taught drawing the following year in Bogota.

Further travel to Europe, Peru and Mexico influenced his painting style. The 1950's brought an interest in engraving. Silva studied the craft, and later trained an entire generation of etchers in Mexico City. Silva's subsequent lithographs brought the artist international renown.

In the last twenty years, Silva has traveled to many foreign countries and has been a leading exhibitor in the finest galleries of the world. His awards and prizes are innumerable and his work is included in most of the important private and permanent collections of museums throughout North and South America.

Silva's technique encompasses a unique use of brilliant colors and surrealistic imagery which draws immediate attention to his work. His controlled use of the two, combined with his acute sense of humor, make his work outstanding in the world of art.

Works on exhibit at the following museums:
Arkansas Art Center
Biblioteca Luis Angel Aranga, Bogota, Colombia
Boston Museum
Brooklyn Museum
The Cincinnati Museum
Escuela Nacional de Artes Plasticas, Mexico
Israel Museum, Jerusalem
Library of Congress, Washington D.C.
London Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Montreal Museum
Museo de Arte Contemporario, Chile
Museum of Baltimore
Museum of Modern Art, New York
Philadelphia Museum of Art
University of Maine, Orono