Felix Rodríguez Baez

Painter, graphic artist and designer, set designer, cartoonist, and teacher. Rodríguez Báez studied art under Hipólito Hidalgo, Nino Sparacino, Ángel Botello, Federico Enjuto, Luisina Ordóñez, Edna Coll, and Clara Schwabe. In 1949, he and José A. Torres Martinó founded Estudio 17, an art school for children, and in 1950 he co-founded the Center for Puerto Rican Art. His first art studio was named Chez les Artistes. In the 1970’s Rodríguez Báez created several public murals, and in the 1980’s he produced cartoons that dealt with the defense of culture. A faculty member and director of the Puerto Rico School of Plastic Arts, in 1988 he headed the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture’s Division of Plastic Arts. He has been a set designer, television director, book illustrator, and advertising producer. His work is done in the vein of Social Realism, through which he reflects on the conditions of life in the neighborhoods of San Juan. His most frequent subjects include portraits, urban and rural landscapes, the poorer neighborhoods, and insular political issues. -Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico