FEDERICO CASTELLON — "THE ALCHEMIST" SIGNED LITHOGRAPH — Mentor DIEGO RIVERA, WHO LAUNCHED CASTELLON'S CAREER — Scarce COMMISSIONED WORK from 1965
"The Alchemist" by Federico Castellon, pencil signed and titled lithograph on BFK Rives woven paper, circa 1965.
"The alchemist is portrayed concocting a secret mixture in his search for a youth-bestowing elixir. In the upper left is the magical lodestone, reported to have the ability to convert base metal into gold." (Description by Owens-Illinois).
This print was commissioned as a token of appreciation on the rewards for performance in connection with the Owens-Illinois Glass Company, with its customers in 1965, who manufactured pharmaceutical prescription vials and containers. Signed and titled in pencil by Castellon, along with separate paper description insert. In original period frame, measuring 21" x 27" in length and width. Please see below for more information on the artist.
Biography
Printmaker, painter, sculptor, and illustrator Federico Castellon was born in Almeria, Spain, on September 14, 1914. After receiving an award for an artist installation during high school, he attracted the attention of Diego Rivera, when his mother brought him to lecture given by Rivera. Diego’s interest in the young artist’s work helped launch Castellon’s career. He introduced the 18 year-old to Carl Zigrosser, the director of Weyhe Gallery in Manhattan, where Castellon secured his first solo exhibition. In 1934, with Diego’s help, he was awarded a four-year traveling fellowship to study in Europe. In 1938 he met printmaker George Miller, in whose workshop he began learning lithography. By 1940 his work had been selected for several shows, including an exhibit at the Chicago Art Institute and the one at the Whitney Museum. In the 1950s, he was received commissions by Life magazine to do a variety of major illustrations, as well as independent commissions for book illustrations. Federico Castellon died in New York on July 7, 1971. –(The Annex Galleries)
