Born in Silao, Guanajuato, this great painter
was a master of various techniques although he is most known
by his contributions to the Muralist movement in Mexico.
Chávez Morado became interested in the arts through his
grandfather who had a large library with books on history, literature
and poetry. When Chávez Morado was 18 years old, he left
Mexico for the United States and Canada to work in the salmon
fishing industry and later met muralist José Clemente
Orozco at the Pomona College California. The meeting was a turning
point for his career. And in 1944, his first exhibit was shown
at the Galería de Arte Mexicano (known as the famed Galería
Pita Amor until 1935).
Chávez Morado's mural of Venetian mosaic can be seen
on the wall of the science faculty at the main campus of the
National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City. Other
famous examples of his work include the impressive Quetzalcoatl
mural at Centro Médico Siglo XXI, as well as the tower
that sustains the so-called "umbrella" (resembling
a "pre-Hispanic" depiction of the earth and the underworld)
at the National Anthropology Museum's main patio.
José Chávez Morado was awarded the National Arts
Prize in 1974 and received an honorary degree from the National
Autonomous University of Mexico in 1985. In addition, Chávez
Morado founded the Integración Plástica Workshop
at La Ciudadela in Mexico City to share and teach with other
artists.
