Nationality Puerto Rican Education Pratt Institute Role Journalist | Name Jose Martino Movement Impressionism | |
Full Name Jose Antonio Torres Martino Born 1916 Ponce, Puerto Rico Known for Painter, artist, Journalist and Writer Died April 22, 2011, San Juan, Puerto Rico | ||
José Antonio Torres Martinó (1916 – 22 April 2011) was a Puerto Rican painter, artist, journalist and writer. Martino founded or expanded many of Puerto Rico's major media, artistic and journalism organizations. He was known for abstract paintings, many of which were inspired by the southern coast of Puerto Rico near the city of Ponce.
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Early years
Torres was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, in 1916. Torres was raised in Puerto Rico, but moved to New York City, where he studied at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn for a brief time. Financial problems forced him to leave Pratt before completing his degree, and he returned to Puerto Rico.
Journalist
He began working as a radio journalist upon his return to Puerto Rico from New York. He co-founded Puerto Rico's first magazine focusing on radio journalism when he was 22 years old. According to Margarita Fernandez Zavala, a professor of art at the University of Puerto Rico, Torres went on to become a well known voice for radio and television audiences between the 1940s and 1980s. Fernandez Zavala called Torres "one of the pioneers of radio and television on the island." Torres co-founded the Press and Television Guild of Puerto Rico in 1951, and later served as the guild's president. He spearheaded the creation of a graphics art program and workshop at the University of Puerto Rico. In addition to his appearances on the radio, Torres also became a columnist for El Nuevo Día, a Puerto Rican daily newspaper.
Painter
Torres continued to paint while working on the radio in his twenties. During the mid-1940s, he was able to transition to painting as a full-time career. He returned to New York City, where he resumed school and held exhibitions of his work. He toured Europe before returning to Puerto Rico. He then co-founded, with Felix Rodriguez Baez, Rafael Tufiño, and Lorenzo Homar, the Center for Puerto Rican Art. He also co-founded the School of Plastic Arts of Puerto Rico.
Death and honors
Jose Torres Martino died in Santurce, San Juan, Puerto Rico, on 22 April 2011, at the age of 94. He is honored at Ponce's Park of the Illustrious Ponce Citizens.
