Birth Anniversary of Virginia Ty-Navarro
(July 5, 1922 – January 28, 1996)
The #NationalMuseumPH celebrates the 100th birth anniversary of Filipina painter-sculptor Virginia Ty-Navarro born #OnThisDay in 1922, by featuring her oil painting entitled “The Fishermen.”
This artwork, on display at the National Museum of Fine Arts (NMFA), along the GSIS Northwest Hallway Gallery of The Senate Floor (Third Floor) was completed in 1983 and became part of the National Fine Arts Collection the following year.
Virginia Ty-Navarro was born in Manila on July 5, 1922. Showing interest in art, her father provided her with private lessons under a Chinese artist. This was further honed under the supervision of a German nun while studying at St. Scholastica College in Vito Cruz. In 1949, she graduated with high honors from the University of Santo Tomas (UST) with a degree in fine arts. She served as part of the faculty of the fine arts department of UST right after her graduation until 1960 and from 1964-1969, as faculty of the College of the Holy Spirit.
She pioneered “incision painting,” which according to Leonidas V. Benesa, is “a combination of carving, painting, and sculpture.” She produced several paintings but also experimented with sculptures. Her husband, painter, sculptor, printmaker, and 1999 National Artist for Visual Arts, Jeremias Elizalde-Navarro, may be one of the influences on why she pursued and experimented with sculpture, having shared a studio with him.
In 1960, despite the demands of family life, she was able to launch her first solo exhibition featuring her paintings and sculptures at the Philippine Art Gallery. In 1966, she represented the country at the international art congress in Tokyo, Japan. She joined group shows organized by the Art Association of the Philippines and Society of Philippine Sculptors where she also sat as one of the board members.
Her best-known work is the statue of Our Lady, Queen of Peace at the EDSA Shrine. This monumental sculpture, in size and significance, was sculpted in bronze and can be found at the intersection of EDSA and Ortigas in Mandaluyong City. The artist passed away in Manila on January 28, 1996.
The National Museum of Fine Arts (NMFA) is reopening after a month-long temporary closure. You may view two other works of Virginia Ty-Navarro from the National Fine Arts Collection, namely: Taurus (1975, bronze and brass, Gallery XXIX) and Abstraction (Undated, oil on canvas, 3F South Hallway Gallery).
#VirginiaTyNavarro
