Fernando Zóbel de Ayala

Fernando Zóbel de Ayala was a distinguished Filipino abstract painter, son of Enrique Zóbel de Ayala, a Spanish industrialist. He was born in Manila, Philippines, on August 27, 1924, and earned a degree in Philosophy and Letters from Harvard University with a study on Federico García Lorca.

He began painting in 1942 and held his first exhibition in Boston in 1951. His style is characterized by the influence of Chinese calligraphy fused with Western abstraction, and his work has been recognized internationally.

Beyond his painting practice, Zóbel was a patron and educator in the arts, teaching at Ateneo de Manila University and receiving an honorary doctorate from the University of Santo Tomás in Manila.