Olga Albizu


Olga Albizu Rosaly was an abstract expressionist painter from Ponce, Puerto Rico. Albizu Rosaly was the first woman dedicated to abstraction in Puerto Rico.

Life

Albizu was born to a relatively wealthy family and raised in Puerto Rico, where she studied painting with the Spanish painter Esteban Vicente from 1943 to 1947. She received a BA from the University of Puerto Rico in 1946. In 1948, she moved to New York City on a fellowship for post-graduate work at the Art Students League, where she studied under Morris Kantor, Carl Holty, and Vaclav Vytlacil. She also studied with Hans Hofmann and subsequently became his apprentice. After that, she did further studies in Europe at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris and the Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence. Later, she spent a year painting in the Provence, as painters such as Van Gogh and Paul Cézanne had done before her. In 1953, she returned to New York.
In 1957, Albizu premiered in The First Comprehensive Exhibition of Contemporary Puerto Rican Artists. Paintings by Albizu were formally inaugurated at the Pan American Union June 16, 1966. Albizu was extensively exhibited in Puerto Rico, Israel, and the United States.

Works

Her works have been used in the artwork of various record covers, including a number of albums by Stan Getz.
Stan Getz:
Bill Evans:
Alibizu's work was included in the Smithsonian American Art Museum's 2013 exhibit, "Our America: The Latino Presence in American Art," and her work, "Radiante", is part of the collection and was used as one of several new banners at the entrance to the Museum in 2017.

Awards