Vicente Carneiro (1927-2005) Brazilian/American, Abstract Oil on Canvas. A vibrant mixed of lines, dashes, dots, and slashes in bright colors. Signed bottom right. 

Overall Size: 38 3/4 x 42 3/4 in. 

Sight Size: 33 1/2 x 37 1/2 in. 

#4734 

Vicente Carneiro was born in Fortaleza, Brazil, on January 31st, 1927. The seaside city was a great source of inspiration to him, and he became interested in painting and in the characteristics of light early on. He traveled to Rio de Janeiro to be closer to the cultural heart of Brazil, and enrolled in the School of Fine Arts. While there his interests turned to architecture, and after graduating he studied further in the School of Architecture at the University of Brazil. While working for an architectural firm he became involved with designing and building decorations for the Rio Carnival, and began to experiment more with abstract forms. In the 1950s he became the head of the Department of Fine Arts at the Brazilian-American Institute of Culture, with many of his works exhibited there as well as sold in galleries and stores throughout the city. In 1964 the military junta came to power, and a few years later he was forced to flee to America, where he lived in Hollywood, Florida and became part of the greater Miami art scene. After the fall of the authoritarian government in 1985 he became a cultural ambassador to Brazil, dividing his time between there and his home in the United States. Most of his work wound up in private collections, as well as in US embassies throughout the world. He passed away on August 4th, 2005 at his home, with many pieces still in the archives of companies and museums around the world, including a piece in the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library that hung in the White House during his second term.