"A color, in order to exist, has to generate the sensation of light, which is really the vibration of sunlight." - Esteban Vicente
Esteban Vicente was born in the town of Turégano, Spain, in the year 1903. His father served in the Civil Guard, a local police force in the Castile region, and was an amateur painter who often took young Vicente to visit the Prado Museum. In 1918, Vicente briefly attended military school but left after only three months. At the age of fifteen, he commenced his studies at the School of Fine Arts of the esteemed Real Academia de San Fernando in Madrid. During his youth in Madrid, Barcelona, and Paris, he formed friendships with various artists and writers. It was in 1928 that he held his debut exhibition alongside Juan Bonafé at the Ateneo de Madrid.
In 1936, Vicente made the significant move to New York City, which became his permanent home. Among his contemporaries and close associates were prominent figures such as Willem de Kooning (they shared 10th Street studios), Elaine de Kooning, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Franz Kline, Barnett Newman, and Ad Reinhardt.
Teaching played a substantial role in Vicente's career, with appointments at institutions like Black Mountain College in Black Mountain, NC; the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting and Sculpture in New York, NY; and the University of California, Berkeley, CA, among others.
Furthermore, he earned numerous prestigious awards, solidifying his reputation as one of the most esteemed artists in the United States. His artworks are prominently featured in esteemed collections and museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY; The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY; and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY, among others.
Towards the end of his life, the Spanish government honored Vicente by establishing the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Esteban Vicente, a museum dedicated to his artistic legacy, in Segovia. Vicente himself attended the museum's inauguration in 1998.
Esteban Vicente passed away at the age of 97 in Bridgehampton, NY, a mere ten days before his 98th birthday. He enjoyed a long and prosperous career, working alongside multiple generations of artists and continuing to paint well into his 90s at his Bridgehampton residence.