14 Facts About Antonia Eiriz

Antonia Eiriz Vazquez was an influential Cuban painter whose work was known for its Expressionist qualities and was exhibited throughout Latin America during her life.

Antonia Eiriz was born in Havana, Cuba in the neighborhood of Juanelo and was the youngest of six children.

Antonia Eiriz began her studies of fine arts at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes "San Alejandro" in 1953.

Antonia Eiriz contributed illustrations to the magazine, Lunes, edited by Guillermo Cabrera Infante, which was a supplement of the newspaper, Revolucion.

Antonia Eiriz continued to be active and influential force in the arts following the 1959 Cuban Revolution.

Antonia Eiriz's career took a sharp turn by the end of the decade when her 1968 work Una tribuna para la paz democratica was deemed "defeatist" by the Cuban government, which effectively marked her as a dissident.

Antonia Eiriz abruptly ceased painting that year and withdrew from many artistic circles, thereafter devoting her life and talents largely to Cuban crafts as well as teaching and mentoring emerging artists privately.

Antonia Eiriz attained permission from the Cuban government to move to the United States in 1993 as a result of her declining health due to depression.

Antonia Eiriz had finished over 25 large oil format paintings before her passing, one to mark each of the 25 years in which she had refrained from painting due to censorship.

Antonia Eiriz died on March 9,1995, of heart failure in Miami, Florida.

In 2001 Antonia Eiriz's work was displayed in the National Museum of art in Cuba and can still be seen to this day.

Antonia Eiriz received a National Culture Award in 1981, and in 1983 received the Alejandro Carpenter Medal.

Antonia Eiriz's paintings are prominently featured in the features of filmmaker Miguel Coyula.

Antonia Eiriz's work is included in the permanent collection of Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Havana and NSU Art Museum in Fort Lauderdale.