Tuesday, December 26, 2023
At the end of 2022 Espigas received the donation of the personal collection of illustrator and caricaturist Antonio Bermúdez Franco (Buenos Aires, 1902- Quilmes, 1974). Bermúdez studied drawing with Eugenio Daneri and perfected his skills in Madrid. Upon his return, he settled in San Juan and made a series of watercolors about the Tulum Valley and its characters. He participated in salons presenting his watercolors and in exhibitions of caricatures. He joined the Proa and Martín Fierro groups; he taught drawing at the Normal School and at the National School of San Rafael (Mendoza) and had several individual exhibitions. He collaborated in publications such as Crítica, La Nación and Atlántida, and won the Concejo Deliberante Award at the Salón Nacional de Acuarelistas, with his Tríptico de Tulum. In painting he interpreted types and customs of Cuyo, and with that theme he presented himself at the National Salon where he participated in 1941, 1942 and 1958. In 1956 he settled in Buenos Aires with his family. In 1973 he made his last exhibitions of caricatures, at the Museum of Modern Art of Mendoza and at the Museum of Fine Arts of San Rafael. The Bermudez collection consists of caricatures, clippings, newspapers, catalogs, autographed books, photographs and manuscripts, among others. The donation of this valuable archive was made by the artist's family.
Documents of the Bermúdez Franco Fund. Photographs: Cecilia Gallardo.