Biography

Clóvis Graciano (Araras, São Paulo, 1907 - São Paulo, 1988). Painter, designer, stage designer, engraver, illustrator. Lived in São Paulo from 1934 onwards. Studied with the painter Waldemar da Costa (1904 - 1982), between 1935 and 1937. In 1937, he joined the Grupo Santa Helena, together with Francisco Rebolo (1902 - 1980), Mario Zanini (1907 - 1971), Bonadei (1906 - 1974), and others. As an auditor, he attended the drawing course of the Escola Paulista de Belas Artes [São Paulo School of Fine Arts] until 1938. A member of the Família Artística Paulista (FAP), in 1939 he was elected chairman of the group. He was a regular participant in the Salon of the Union of Visual Artists, and in 1941, held his first individual exhibition. In 1948, he became a founding partner of the Museu de Arte Moderna de São Paulo - MAM/SP [São Paulo Museum of Modern Art]. He went to Europe in 1949, with the prize he won at the National Salon of Fine Arts. He spent two years in Paris, where he studied mural painting and engraving. From the 1950s onwards, he devoted himself principally to mural painting. He illustrated literary works, such as the book Cancioneiro da Bahia [Songbook of Bahia], by Dorival Caymmi (1914- ), published by Martins, in 1947, and in 1987, the novel Terras do Sem Fim [Endless Lands], by Jorge Amado (1912 - 2001), for the publisher Record. In 1971, he took up the position of director of the  Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo - Pesp [São Paulo State Art Gallery]. From 1976 to 1978, he served as cultural attaché in Paris. Throughout his career, he remained faithful to figurativism, with a predominance of social themes.