Federico Castellón (1914-1971) Spanish-American painter, sculptor, printmaker and illustrator of children's books. Castellón was born on Isla de Alborán, Spain, studied in Madrid and Paris and settled in Brooklyn, New York. With his family, he immigrated in 1921 to the United States. Castellón was introduced to Diego Rivera, who had an international reputation and was painting murals for Rockefeller Center . The older artist took an interest in the young man's work and brought Castellón's drawings to the attention of the director of the Weyhe Gallery in New York, who subsequently gave the eighteen-year old Castellón his first solo exhibition. In 1934, with Rivera's help, Castellón was awarded a four-year fellowship, sponsored by the Spanish Government, to travel throughout Europe to study painting and printmaking. During this same period, Castellón began to exhibit his work in museums in France and Spain. In 1935, Castellón participated in the Paris Exhibition of Spanish Artists that included Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, and Joan Miró. In 1937, Castellón returned to New York and began experimenting with the medium of lithography, using this medium to create illustrations for Edgar Allan Poe's allegorical tale, "The Masque of Red Death". Over the years, Castellón's work as an illustrator would eventually include Bulfinch's Mythology, The Story of Marco Polo, and The Little Prince. In 1940, Castellón received the first of two Guggenheim fellowships. His work continued to attract attention as he was included in exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago. Castellón became an American citizen in 1943. During WW II he was with the OSS and assigned to the Burma theater. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, his work was informed by his travels abroad: to China with the U.S. Army; to Italy on his second Guggenheim fellowship; and to Paris and Madrid, where he moved his family for a brief period during which he undertook commissions from American periodicals, including The Epic of Man series for LIFE magazine. Castellón died in 1971. A retrospective of his prints was held at the Allied Artists of America in 1978. In 1982, a retrospective exhibition of his work was held at Anderson & Anderson Master Prints (Loveland, Colorado). In 2004, his prints and paintings were exhibited at Emil Nelson Gallery (Denver, Colorado). In early 2010, Castellón's work was exhibited at the Kalamazoo Institute, along with the graphic work of Francisco Goya. Although Castellón worked in virtually every media, he remains best known for his early graphic work, particularly his lithographs and etchings, media in which he became a master. His prints and drawings of the early 1930s are the first examples of Surrealism created by an American; a considerable feat because Castellón produced these highly original works not only before his travels abroad, but before the seminal exhibition "Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism" at New York's Museum of Modern Art. Offered here is a signed drawing, approx. 14 x 11". Mostly likely executed in black ink [lithographic ink].

We consider the condition to be very good but need to mention: paper is mounted to old matboard. There is a small rubbed spot, not thru paper, in forehead area that is hardly visible. Also some ripples in paper that show mainly when held at an angle. These are not as prominent as what shows in the scan below. Image is scan is cropped due to smaller scanner window.