Rafael Tufiño

Taking advantage of the GI Bill, he then moved to Mexico to study painting and engraving at the San Carlos Academy,[4] where he was exposed to the populist ideas of the Taller de Gráfica Popular (Spanish: "People's Graphic Workshop") and the Mexican muralists Diego Rivera and José Clemente Orozco.Upon returning to Puerto Rico in 1949, he joined the Graphic Arts Workshop of the Community Education Division (DIVEDCO, for its Spanish acronym), which had been created as part of a government campaign to teach the public about health.[2][3][5] He also spent time in New York on a Guggenheim fellowship in 1954,[6] and returned to the city in the 1960s, when he encountered a generation of Puerto Rican artists particularly intent on exploring and celebrating their cultural heritage.[2] For his body of work and his dedication towards minority communities, he received a lifetime achievement award by the National Arts Club in New York City in 2003.[5] Upon hearing his death, the Governor of Puerto Rico ordered all state flags to fly at half mast[2] and proclaimed 2 days of national mourning.
Abolition of Slavery (1986), mosaic by Tufiño in the Capitol Building, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Spanish namesurnameBrooklynNew York CityNew YorkCondadoPuerto RicoSan Carlos AcademyPuerto RicanBrooklyn, New YorkOld San JuanUnited States ArmyArmy Signal CorpsGI BillTaller de Gráfica PopularSpanishDiego RiveraJosé Clemente OrozcoCommunity Education DivisionGuggenheim fellowshipDepartment of EducationTaller BoricuaSpanish HarlemEl Museo del BarrioMuseum MileNational Arts ClubCondado, Puerto RicoGovernor of Puerto Ricohalf mastMuseum of Modern ArtMetropolitan Museum of ArtPhiladelphia Museum of ArtGalería NacionalMuseum of Art of Puerto RicoList of Puerto Ricans