Manuel Viola Spanish (1919 - 1987) Bird oil on canvas Signed lower right, titled verso. Biography from Setdart: He returned to Spain in 1949 after his exile. Self-taught, Viola had been in contact with many artistic and cultural groups during his youth. In fact, his signature can be found in the Logicofobist manifesto or in the writing "From the Surrealist Revolution to Surrealism in the Service of the Revolution". However, it was not until 1958 that he began to develop a truly personal style, while at the same time joining the avant-garde pictorial group El Paso, to which Antonio Saura, Rafael Canogar, Luis Feito and Manolo Millares, among others, belonged. He began to express himself through abstract painting with a strong expressionist character and great attention to colour. He definitively left behind the figuration that had prevailed until then in his work. Throughout his life he was awarded numerous prizes, such as the Condado de San Jorge Prize, the Lissones Prize (Milan) and the Gold Medal of the City of Saragossa. He exhibited in the most important galleries in Spain and also abroad, in cities such as Oslo, New York, Venice, São Paulo and Houston. While he was still alive, important retrospective exhibitions of his work were held: in 1965 at the Dirección de Bellas Artes de Madrid, in 1971 at the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Madrid, in 1972 at the Lonja de Zaragoza, in 1983 at the Armas Gallery in Miami, and in 1986 in Houston. After his death, anthological exhibitions of his work continued to be held in international galleries and museums. Manuel Viola's work can be seen in the Reina Sofía Museum, the Museum of Modern Art in Cologne, the Museum of Fine Arts in Bilbao, the Guggenheim in New York and Bilbao and the Museum of Spanish Abstract Art in Cuenca, among many others. 57 1/4"H x 38 1/4"W (sight), 58 1/2"H x 39 1/4"W (frame)