• Felicidades (1970)

    “Felicidades (1970)”

    Date 1970
    Dimensions 29 5/8" x 19 1/8"
    Category Poster
    Medium Silkscreen on paper
    Genre Scenes
    Period 20th Century
    Collection Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico

    Acknowledgement Gift of GlaxoSmithKline
  • Felicidades 1960

    “Felicidades 1960”

    Date 1960
    Dimensions 24 3/8" x 15 5/8"
    Category Poster
    Medium Silkscreen on paper
    Genre Urban landscape
    Period 20th Century
    Collection Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico

    Acknowledgement Gift of GlaxoSmithKline
  • Exposición retrospectiva: Manuel Hernández Acevedo

    “Exposición retrospectiva: Manuel Hernández Acevedo”

    Date 1981
    Dimensions 24 1/2" x 18"
    Category Poster
    Medium Silkscreen on paper
    Genre Urban landscape
    Period 20th Century
    Collection Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico
    Acknowledgement Gift of Banco Santander de Puerto Rico
  • Muchas felicidades: 1984, 1985

    “Muchas felicidades: 1984, 1985”

    Date 1984
    Dimensions 29 5/8" x 20 3/16"
    Category Poster
    Medium Silkscreen on paper
    Genre Scenes
    Period 20th Century
    Collection Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico
    Acknowledgement Gift of GlaxoSmithKline
  • Pintores en Retratos y Autorretratos

    “Pintores en Retratos y Autorretratos”

    Date 1960
    Dimensions 26 7/16" x 17 13/16"
    Category Poster
    Medium Silkscreen on paper
    Genre Portrait
    Period 20th Century
    Collection Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico
    Acknowledgement Gift of GlaxoSmithKline
  • “El Fanguito”

    Date 1959
    Dimensions 24 5/8" x 18"
    Category Painting
    Medium Oil on Masonite
    Genre Urban landscape
    Period 20th Century
    Collection Francisco and Lourdes Arriví Collection, donated to MAPR by Joaquín and Olga Viso.
  • “San Juan Alley”

    Date 1969
    Dimensions 34" x 10"
    Category Painting
    Medium Oil on canvas
    Genre Urban landscape
    Period 20th Century
    Collection Francisco and Lourdes Arriví Collection, donated to MAPR by Joaquín and Olga Viso.
  • San José Plaza

    “San José Plaza”

    Date 1963
    Dimensions 44" x 32"
    Category Painting
    Medium Oil on Masonite
    Genre Urban landscape
    Period 20th Century
    Collection Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico Collection
    Acknowledgement Gift of: Otto y Vionnette Reyes Veray y Luis y Millie Gutiérrez Bermúdez
  • A Corner of the Plaza (Vignettes of San Juan portfolio, Center for Puerto Rican Art)

    “A Corner of the Plaza (Vignettes of San Juan portfolio, Center for Puerto Rican Art)”

    Date 1953
    Dimensions 11 7/8" x 15 1/2"
    Category Print
    Medium Silkscreen on paper
    Genre Scenes
    Period 20th Century
    Collection Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico Collection
  • Christmas Program

    “Christmas Program”

    Date 1962
    Dimensions 22 5/16" x 16 9/16"
    Category Poster
    Medium Silkscreen on paper
    Genre Rural landscape
    Period 20th Century
    Collection Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico Collection
    Acknowledgement Gift of: GlaxoSmithKline
  • Self-portrait

    “Self-portrait”

    Date 1973
    Dimensions 23 7/8" x 20"
    Category Painting
    Medium Oil on Masonite
    Genre Self-portrait
    Period 20th Century
    Collection Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico Collection
    Acknowledgement Gift of: Banco Gubernamental de Fomento para Puerto Rico
  • Fire at La Perla

    “Fire at La Perla ”

    Date 1957
    Dimensions 49" x 93 7/8"
    Category Painting
    Medium Oil on Masonite
    Genre Scenes
    Period 20th Century
    Collection Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña Collection
  • The Chapel

    “The Chapel ”

    Date 1956
    Dimensions 23 3/16" x 14 1/8"
    Category Painting
    Medium Oil on Masonite
    Genre Urban landscape
    Period 20th Century
    Collection Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña Collection

Manuel Hernández Acevedo

Aguas Buenas, PR, 1921 - San Juan, PR, 1988

Biography Details

Painter and printmaker. Hernández Acevedo came from a very humble family, left school after the fourth grade, and worked as a shoemaker, assistant sign maker, and cook. In 1947 he entered the Graphic Arts Workshop of Division de Educación a la Comunidad (DivEdCo) and under the encouragement of American graphic artist Irene Delano, who was then the director of the Workshop, he learned silk-screening and began to paint, for which he had a natural talent. A simple, honest man, in his paintings Hernández Acevedo favored scenes of streets and houses in Old San Juan, in which such characteristic features of the old city as light posts, power lines and kites are frequent images. He also illustrated historical events such as the inauguration of Luis Muñoz Marín in 1948. His placement of pictorial elements in the composition, his keen eye for detail, the simplicity of subjects and shapes, and the variety of light and color have made him one of the main representatives of Art Naïf in Puerto Rico.

Artist Statement

“His humbled and honorable character was conveyed through his paintings, categorized as primitive for their spontaneous character and the simplicity of themes, forms and variety of light and color. His favorite scenes were the streets and houses of Old San Juan, where very peculiar details of the city such as light posts, power lines and kites can be appreciated”.

Source: The Treasures of Puerto Rican Painting, Puerto Rico Museum of Art, 2000

Formation

Education

1947-1949

  • Learns silkscreen skills with Francisco Palacios and painting with Irene Delano. Oficina de Parques y Recreos Público de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Professional Experience

1949-1977

  • Graphic Artist. División de Educación para la Comunidad (DIVEDCO), Departamento de Instrucción Pública, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Exhibitions

Solo Shows

1985

  • Galería Calibán, San Juan, Puerto Rico

1981

  • Museo del Grabado Latinoamericano, San Juan, Puerto Rico

1976

  • Galería Campeche, San Juan, Puerto Rico

1959

  • Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico

1953

  • Ateneo Puertorriqueño, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Group Shows

2013

  • Interconexiones: Lecturas Curatoriales de la Colección del MAPR, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico 

2007

  • Contexto puertorriqueño: del rococó colonial al arte global, Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico

1992

  • 45 años de expresión gráfica puertorriqueña, Pabellón de Puerto Rico, Sevilla, Spain

1987

  • La estampa serigráfica en Puerto Rico, Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico

1985

  • Pintura y gráfica de los años 50, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico

1981

  • V Bienal de San Juan del Grabado Latinoamericano y del Caribe, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico

1980

  • Colección de Grabados de la “Esso Estándar Oil Company de Puerto Rico”, Sala de Exhibiciones Casa Blanca, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico

1979

  • Inauguración del Museo de Arte e Historia de San Juan, Museo de Arte e Historia de San Juan, San Juan, Puerto Rico
  • IV Bienal de San Juan del Grabado Latinoamericano y del Caribe, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
  • Homenaje a Félix Bonilla Norat, La Fortaleza, San Juan, Puerto Rico

1977

  • El Viejo San Juan Visto por los Artistas Puertorriqueños, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico

1976

  • El Viejo San Juan Visto por los Artistas Puertorriqueños, Taller Bija, San Juan, Puerto Rico

1973

  • La herencia artística de Puerto Rico: época precolombina al presente, Museo del Barrio; New York; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, United States
  • XII Bienal de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil
  • La Historia del Cartel en Puerto Rico, El Museo del Barrio, New York, Estados Unidos

1972

  • II Bienal de San Juan del Grabado Latinoamericano y el Caribe, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico

1971

  • Portafolio de Artistas Puertorriqueños, Galería Colibrí, San Juan, Puerto Rico

1970

  • I Bienal de San Juan del Grabado Latinoamericano y el Caribe, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico

1966

  • Dos siglos de pintura puertorriqueña, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
  • Puerto Rico- La Nueva Vida, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico

1963

  • Gráfica de Puerto Rico, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
  • Galería Colibrí, San Juan, Puerto Rico

1959

  • Exposición de Pintura y Escultura de los artistas puertorriqueños Manuel Hernández Acevedo y Tomas Batista, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico

1958

  • I Bienal Interamericana de Pintura y Grabado, Mexico City, México 

1957

  • The First Comprehensive Exhibition of Contemporary Puerto Rican Artists, The Riverside Museum, New York, United States
  • Sala de Pintura Contemporánea en Puerto Rico y Sala de Grabado, Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
  • Exposición de Pintura Puertorriqueña- Oleos, grabados, serigrafías y dibujos, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Awards, Distinctions and Achievements

1956

  • Mention. Ateneo Puertorriqueño, San Juan, Puerto Rico

 

Collections

  • Compañía de Turismo de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
  • Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
  • Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
  • Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico

 

Bibliography

Books

Hermandad de Artistas Gráficos de Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico Arte e Identidad. San Juan, P.R.: Editorial de la Universidad de Puerto Rico, 1998.


Los tesoros de la pintura puertorriqueña. Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico. San Juan, P.R. 2000.