Ben Uri Research Unit

Born: 1894 Valparaíso, Chile

Died: 1951 Aix-en-Provence, France

Year of Migration to the UK: 1908

Other name/s: Chile Guevara, Álvaro Guevara

Biography

Painter Álvaro Guevara was born in Valparaíso, Chile, on 13 July 1894, son of a wealthy Chilean wool merchant who imported English woollens. In 1908, aged 14, Guevara was sent to England to study textiles at Bradford Technical College, his family's expecting that he would follow in his father's footsteps. However, he found the textile industry unappealing and uninspiring. During his time in Bradford, he began secretly attending evening classes at Bradford College of Art, where he nurtured his burgeoning passion for painting. His artistic talents quickly became apparent, and with the encouragement of the local Rothenstein family, who had many connections to the arts, Guevara decided to pursue art seriously.

In 1912, Guevara was rewarded with a scholarship to the Slade School of Art in London, where he studied alongside notable modernists, including Paul Nash, Stanley Spencer, William Roberts, David Bomberg and Jacob Kramer. His time there was formative, and Guevara was considered a prodigy, admired for his technical skill and creative vision (Times obituary). He won further recognition in 1916 with his portrait of Edith Sitwell (Tate collection), which, according to the Sphere, ‘startled the artistic world’ of the time (1928, p. 45). The portrait featured the poet and editor of Wheels seated on a modern dining chair designed by Roger Fry for the Omega Workshops, a decorative arts venture in London that both Sitwell and Guevara patronised. Guevara’s style during this period reflected his rigorous Slade training, combined with the influence of Post-Impressionism, which he encountered through his associations with artists like Fry and the Omega. His work was characterised by a high viewpoint, a technique popular among early Post-Impressionists, which gave his compositions a distinctive flattened design. This often led to his work being viewed as advanced and sometimes controversial, as his figures seemed to defy traditional spatial logic, creating a tension between form and perspective. Guevara was also associasted with the New English Art Club (NEAC), and was well-known among the Bloomsbury Group and artistic circles of Chelsea, establishing his presence in London's avant-garde scene.

In the mid-1920s, Guevara returned to Chile, where he not only painted but also excelled as a boxer. His time in Chile was artistically productive, and on returning to England, he exhibited a series of paintings at the Leicester Galleries in 1926, which included vivid depictions of Chilean landscapes and figures, which were well received and marked a significant phase in his artistic development. The Times highlighted his progression, noting his shift away from linear emphasis towards a more sophisticated use of tone and colour. The review praised his compelling combinations of deep, vibrant hues, particularly in the flower study Copihue, which combined fuchsia-red, magenta, and peacock in a way that appealed to a deeper sense beyond the purely visual, while his paintings of native figures and interiors were noted for their ability to stir emotions and effectively capture the essence of his subjects, demonstrating his growing mastery and emotional depth as an artist.

In 1929, Guevara married the painter Meraud Guinness, a member of the wealthy and influential Irish Guinness family. The couple moved to France, where Guevara's work underwent a noticeable shift. He began focusing on what he termed ‘imaginary portraits’, characterised by subdued colouring and a more introspective approach to his subjects. These were more abstract and less reliant on the meticulous realism of his earlier portraits, reflecting a deeper exploration of the human psyche and the artist's own inner world. Despite his earlier success, Guevara's later years were marked by a withdrawal from the public eye. He continued to paint, producing a series of landscapes that, while technically proficient, did not achieve the same critical acclaim as his earlier works.

Álvaro Guevara died on 16 October 1951 in Aix-en-Provence, France. Posthumously, Guevara's work received renewed attention through several London exhibitions. In 1952 his work featured alongside that of Polish refugee painter, Joseph Herman, at emigre-founded gallery, Roland, Browse & Delbanco and, in 1953, the Mayor Gallery showcased a collection of drawings, distinct from the large portraits for which he was primarily known, highlighting Guevara's intricate technique, particularly in figures executed in black chalk on waxed paper. In the 1970s, a resurgence of interest led to the rediscovery of many of his works, thought lost or destroyed. These were exhibited at Colnaghi's in 1974–75, coinciding with the release of a biography by Diana Holman-Hunt that brought further recognition, while Michael Parkin presented Alvaro Guevara & His Circle: Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings & Watercolours at his eponymous London gallery in 1989. More recently, Lori Bookstein Fine Art in New York hosted the 2010 exhibition The Pugilist and the Heiress, featuring 21 works by Guevara and his wife, highlighting their role in British Modernism. In the UK public domain, Guevara’s work is represented in the collections of the Tate, Manchester Art Gallery, and York Art Gallery.

Related books

‘A Famous Unknown’, CE Noticias Financieras (English ed.); Miami, 8 July 2023
Amalia Cross Gantes, Álvaro Guevara: la Tela, el Papel y el Cuadrilátero (Viña del Mar: Mundana Ediciones, 2019)
Alvaro Guevara & His Circle: Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings & Watercolours (London, Michael Parkin Gallery, 1989)
‘Images of Edith’, Mid Sussex Times, 19 May 1977, p. 22
Alvaro Guevara, 1894-1951: a Chilean Painter in London and Paris , exhibition catalogue (London: P. and D. Colnaghi and Co, 1974)
Diana Homan-Hunt, Latin Among Lions: Alvaro Guevara (London: Michael Joseph, 1974)
‘Alvaro Guevara’, The Times, 26 November 1953, p. 11
Paintings by Alvaro Guevara, exhibition catalogue (London: Mayor Gallery, 1952)
‘Art of Alvaro Guevara’, The Times, 18 November 1952, p. 5
The Sketch, 14 May 1930, p. 9
The Tatler, 30 April 1930, p. 25
‘Milionnaire’s Daughter Married to Chilean Artist’, Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer, 24 January 1929, p. 13
The Sphere, 15 December 1928, p. 45
‘How the art show benefits Liverpool’, Liverpool Echo, 23 September 1927, p. 6
‘Art In Liverpool’, Liverpool Echo, 19 September 1927, p. 15
The Sphere, 6 November 1926, p. 19
‘The Leicester Galleries’, The Times, 1 November 1926, p. 19
Illustrated London News, 30 October 1926, p. 22
‘Art’, Truth, 6 July 1921, p. 17
‘Artist’s Distinction’, Pall Mall Gazette, 12 May 1921, p. 11
Truth, 22 October 1919, p. 17
‘Cubist Pictures in Oxford’, Oxford Chronicle and Reading Gazette, 20 June 1919, p. 22

Public collections

Related organisations

Slade School of Fine Art (student (1912–16))
The New English Art Club (member)

Selected exhibitions

The Pugilist and the Heiress, Lori Bookstein Fine Art, New York, USA (2010)
Alvaro Guevara & His Circle: Exhibition of Paintings, Drawings & Watercolours, Michael Parkin Gallery, London (1989)
Images of Edith, Gardner Center Gallery, Sussex University (1977)
Alvaro Guevara: A Chilean Painter in London and Paris, P. & D. Colnaghi & Co., London (1974 –1975)
Retrospective Exhibition, Mayor Gallery, London (1952)
Alvaro Guevara and Joseph Herman, Roland, Browse & Delbanco (1952)
55th Autumn Exhibition, Walker Gallery, Liverpool (1927)
Paintings of Chile by Alvaro Guevara, Leicester Galleries (1926)
International Society of Sculptors, Painters & Gravers: 29th London Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts,London (1925)
National Portrait Society, Grafton Galleries, London (1921)
New English Art Club, London (1921)
Cubist Exhibition, Hills and Saunders, Oxford (1919)

Ben Uri archive

Consult items in the Ben Uri archive related to [Alvaro Guevara]