PROPERTY FROM THE DON J. ANTONIO ARANETA COLLECTION
Manila Post Office and Jai-Alai Building on Taft Avenue, February 1945
signed, dated 1967, and inscribed“from the original sketch done in 1945“ (lower right)
oil on canvas
36” x 44” (91 cm x 112 cm)





WRITE UPThe other, entitled Taft Avenue, was executed in oil on canvas in 1967 for Don José Antonio Araneta, based on a watercolor entitled, Cityscape done by Castañeda in 1945. The 4 ½ foot X 5 foot canvas depicts the once majestic Taft Avenue with the war-torn ruins of the Manila Jai-Alai Building, Santa Isabel College, the Philippine Normal School, and the Manila City Hall, and the Legislative Building, and the Episcopal Cathedral of St. Mary & St. John seen at a distance. The barren trunk and branches of a once leafy tree frames the ruined cityscape before it while debris, fallen branches, and an overturned car underscore the chaos and displacement brought about by war. Castañeda veered away from war subjects as the years of Reconstruction progressed and he produced once again beautiful landscapes such as one depicting the new U.P. Campus in Diliman (1951) from the National Museum of Fine Arts Collection and another depicting the rebuilt Antipolo Church (1956). Castañeda continued to teach at the U.P. School of Fine Arts in Diliman and succeeded Guillermo Tolentino as Director, serving from 1955-1962. Among his students was the painter and historian, Alfredo Roces, who proudly cited him as his first art teacher. In 1964, he wrote a seminal tome on Philippine art history entitled, Art in the Philippines, which became a standard reference book for many years. He continued painting until his waning years and passed away 89 PROPERTY FROM THE DON J. ANTONIO ARANETA COLLECTION Dominador Castaneda (1904 - 1967) Manila Post Office and Jai-Alai Building on Taft Avenue, February 1945 signed, dated 1967, and inscribed “from the original sketch done in 1945“ (lower right) oil on canvas 36” x 44” (91 cm x 112 cm) P 700,000 on 27 November 1967. Castañeda was posthumously given the Patnubay ng Sining at Kalinangan by the City of Manila in 1971. In the same year, a retrospective of his works was held at the Solidaridad Gallery with a catalogue of his works. And in 2023, a monograph on his works, entitled Dominador Castañeda, Painter, Teacher, Writer was published, a project which his granddaughter, Angela Castañeda Melo, pursued against all odds to honor his life and works. (IPR)