About the Artist

The talent of Manuel Montoya is evident in his wide range of paintings, with more than 1000 works sold and distributed across the globe.  He was born in Madrid in 1938, and he studied with Professor Rafael Pellicier in the Fine Arts School of San Fernando. He supplemented his lessons with daily visits to the Prado Museum, where he produced studio-copies of Velazquez, Ribera and Rembrant, assimilatings their techniques.

This greatly affected his subsequent development as an artist. In the 1960's he lived with his wife Sharon, in the Villa of Fuentiduena (Segovia), where he painted many portraits, still lifes and interiors, testimony to a peasant style of life that only exists in memory. Some of the works were displayed in 1969 at the Lesnick Gallery of New York. On the occasion of Rembrandt's centenary, Montoya travelled around Holland and went to the nation's many museums. One city that particularly fascinated him was Delft. He came back to Spain working tirelessly as well as teaching in his studio in Segovia, Spain.

His works were exhibited at Salon Cano, Madrid as well as other cities. In the 80's he carried out commissions for private clients and also put together a large solo exhibition at the National Spanish Tourist Office in Manhattan, NY. He resided mainly in Spain with occassional trips to the US and Venezuela.

On April 14th, 2009 Manuel Montoya sadly passed away at the age of 71.  He will be dearly missed, but his life-work and legacy will live forever.