José Guerrero
1914–1991 · Spanish painter and printmaker, abstract expressionist
José García Guerrero (Granada, 1914 - Barcelona, 1991), known as José Guerrero, was a Spanish painter and printmaker who spent much of his working life in the United States, where he became part of the abstract expressionist movement. His career links Spanish tradition with the New York avant-garde, which makes him an important figure in postwar Spanish art.
He studied in Granada and Madrid, and in 1945 received a French government grant to study fresco painting in Paris, where he saw works by Picasso, Miró and Matisse. His early work is figurative. In 1949 he married Roxane Whittier Pollock, an American journalist, and settled in New York. Around 1950 he gave up figuration and turned to abstraction, showing the influence of Franz Kline, Mark Rothko and Clyfford Still.
His painting is best known for its large fields of colour. After returning to Spain in 1965 he divided his time between Frigiliana and Madrid. His work is held by collections including the Guggenheim Museum in New York and the Reina Sofía in Madrid, and in Granada the Centro José Guerrero, opened in 2000, holds works from the family collection.