Ask an educated Filipino who the most famous Filipino painter is, and you get either Juan Luna or Fernando Amorsolo.
Ask if Salvador Dali is more famous than either one of them, and you get a reluctant “yes.” Ask who the greatest is among the three, and you get “art is subjective” – true.
One’s greatness is not diminished by another’s greater fame.
Dali lost in a contest to an artist whose stardom is dwarfed by Dali’s own, as well as by that of the two Filipino titans.
Salvador Dali lost to Vicente Alvarez Dizon, a Filipino, in the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition sponsored by IBM held in San Francisco. Fernando Amorsolo won in the counterpart competition, also sponsored by IBM, held at the 1939 New York World’s Fair.
I do not recall my grade or high school teachers talking about Dizon. Luna and Amorsolo are household names, especially since there are roads named after them. Juan Luna Street leads to the famous bargain hub Divisoria, flocked by people any time of the year but most especially during the Christmas season for offering budget-friendly decor and gift selection.
Learning about Dizon years later gives me a certain sense of national pride.
The participation of Vicenter Alvarez Dizon and Fernando Amorsolo is documented in two catalogs of the same title, Contemporary Art of 79 Countries. The catalog is not paginated but is instead arranged by country name alphabetically. The Philippines is referred to as Philippine Islands. Each participating country gets a two-page spread with the artwork and the photo of the artist.
The dual victories, and Dali’s second place, are documented in The Art News and elsewhere.
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| from Contemporary Art of 79 Countries featured for educational purposes under principle of fair use |
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| from Contemporary Art of 79 Countries featured for educational purposes under principle of fair use |
References
Dizon, Vicente Alvarez. “Philippine Islands.” Contemporary Art of 79 Countries. Golden Gate International Exposition. New York: International Business Machines Corporation, 1939. N. pag.
Amorsolo, Fernando. “Philippine Islands.” Contemporary Art of 79 Countries. New York World’s Fair. New York: International Business Machines Corporation, 1939. N. pag.
“Art Throughout America: New York and San Francisco Popular Awards to Contemporary Art.” The Art News 4 Nov. 1939. 15.
