Spanish Version

Version française

 

Due to their size, some of these images may take a few seconds to download

 

 







Biography

1898

Bores is born in Madrid on 6th May.

1915

After finishing his studies in the School of the Conception, he studies Engineering and Law but leaves both degrees unfinished in order to dedicate more time to painting.

Bores and His family

1916

He enters the Cecilio Pla academy, where he will remain for three years. He studies with models for the first time. He studies together with Pancho Cossío, Manuel Ángeles Ortiz and Joaquin Peinado, amongst others.
In the Prado Museum, he makes copies from Velázquez, Goya and Titian.

1921 His works are rejected by the National Exhibition.
1922 He participates in the National Exhibition of Fine Art or Salones Oficiales.
1923

He is in touch with the Ultraist movement. He frequents literary circles and participates in important literary gatherings. From then until 1928, he publishes woodcuts in numerous magazines, such as Alfar, Horizonte, Tobogán, Cruz y Raya, Indice, and España. He produces numerous vignettes for the covers of the Revista de Occidente. He attends the Julio Moisés Academy, where he coincides with Dalí and Benjamín Palencia .

1925
Self Portrait, 1926

He participates in the First Exhibition of the Iberian Artists' Society, held in Madrid, with sixteen oil paintings and two water colours. In view of the lack of interest shown towards young art, such as that of Dalí, Moreno Villa, Palencia or Alberto, he decides to leave Spain and go to Paris. Once in Paris, he meets with his friend, Cossío, and moves into a study in the Avenue du Maine, situated in the Montparnasse district. His first setback occurs when his works are rejected by the Salon d'Automne.
He meets Picasso and Juan Gris.
He designs the cover for El Decamerón Negro by Leon Frobenius (Revista de Occidente).

1926

Summer spent in Juan-les-Pins, where he meets with Joaquín Peinado and Sabartés, amongst others.

1927

Rue Julie, 1928

He moves his study to Rue Julie. He comes into contact with the dealers, Jacques Bernheim and Léonce Rosenberg, and with the Pierre and Percier Galleries. He signs his first contract with the Percier Gallery, where the first exhibition of his own work is held in June. First highly favourable article from the critic and publisher Tériade in the magazine Cahiers d'art (Vol 3).
In Madrid, La Gaceta Literaria publishes an article on Bores by Benjamín Jarnés which is translated by Tériade.
Bores draws four illustrations for the book of poems by José María Hinojosa, La rosa de los vientos, which was published in the seventh supplement of the magazine, Litoral (Málaga).
He broadens his circle of friendships: Jules Supervielle, Max Jacob, Jean Cocteau, Raymond Radiguet, Louis Aragon, André Breton, Paul Eluard, Christian Zervos and Man Ray.… Through Tériade, he meets Suzanne Roger and André Beaudin .

1928

Portrait of Raïa, 1928

Jules Supervielle's book of poems, Saisir, is published by the NRF, with a portrait of the author painted by Bores and engraved in wood by Georges Aubert.
Group exhibition at the Valentine Gallery in New York of works by Viñes, Beaudin and Borès.
He exhibits his work at the Salon des Tuileries and at the first Salon des Vrais Indépendants.

1929

He begins to paint in a less abstract way. In the summer, he travels to Grasse and Cros-de-Cagnes, accompanied by Raïa Perewozka, whom he had met in 1928 in Paris in the Café du Dôme. "... a stay in the Midi, near Grasse, precipitates things: I felt subjugated by the light, the fruits, the women of that region. And again I began to paint landscapes and figures ".
He exhibits his work at the Salon des Surindépendants.
He takes part in the exhibition of painting and sculpture by resident Spanish artists in Paris, held at the Botanic Gardens in Madrid, and in several group exhibitions: one in Zurich, Peintres de Paris , and two other exhibitions at the Galerie Vavin-Raspail in París, in May and October respectively.

1930

Raïa, Bores and Tériade at Grasse, 1930

He marries Raïa. Tériade and the painter Abraham Rattner are witnesses. He stays on the Côte d'Azur with Tériade, near Grasse, and later at Cagnes-sur-Mer, with Picasso, his wife, Olga, and their son, Paulo.
He continues painting landscapes and still life.
He takes part in two group exhibitions, one at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and another at the Casino in San Sebastián: Exposición de Arquitectura y Pintura Modernas (Cossío, Picasso, Gris, Viñes, Pruna, Ponce de León, Moreno Villa, Uzalai, Maruja Mallo, Bores, Alfonso Olivares, M.Ángeles Ortiz, Maura Salas, J.Peinado, Olasagasti, Cabanas Eurausquin and Miró).

1931

Bores in His Studio, 1931

Single artist exhibition of works from the period 1927 to 1931 at the Galerie Georges Bernheim in París.
From now until 1938 he will participate every year at the Salon des Surindépendants, after which date he will continue to do so in a more sporadic fashion.
He forms part of three group exhibitions: at the Galerie Georges Petit in Paris (recent works by Beaudin, Bores, Cossío, Dalí, Giacometti, Laurens, Lurçat, Marcoussis, Masson, Max Ernst, Miró, Ozenfant, Torres-Garcí and Zadkine); of a sample collection of works by the Iberian Artists' Society in San Sebastián ; and at the Peintres de Paris exhibition in New Orleans. At Lucerne, his daughter Carmen is born.
He signs a contract with Swiss dealer, Max Berger, director of the Galerie Vavin-Raspail in Paris, with which he will maintain a relationship until its close in 1934.
Monographic edition of the magazine Les Arts Plastiques (Vol. 10), published by the Galerie Vavin-Raspail.
Between 1931 and 1932 he moves his studio twice: first to 147, Rue Broca and later to 76, Rue des Plantes, where he also moves his family.
He meets the sculptors, Henri Laurens and Alberto Giacometti, and diplomat and writer, Paul Petit.

1932 Single artist exhibition at the Galerie Vavin-Raspail. "More precision in form and more intensity in colour.... New exploration of pure painting through a motif of lesser importance."
He spends the summer at Vinaroz with his family; he paints landscapes.

1933 Single artist exhibition at the Galerie Vavin-Raspail, with works whose "themes show more realism".
He takes part in an exhibition held by the Iberian Artists' Society in Berlín and in a group exhibition at the Galerie Vavin-Raspail.
Holidays with his family and Pierre Reverdy at Varangeville, where he coincides with Georges Braque and his wife.
He moves his studio to Rue de la Glacière, where he lives with Raïa and his daughter. For financial reasons, Raïa and his daughter Carmen move to Madrid to live with his mother.

1934

Minotaure, 1934
Joint exhibition with André Beaudin and Salvador Dalí at the Zwemmer Gallery in London. He takes part in the Minotaure Exhibition held at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels.
He etches as illustration for the poetry of Louis Bauguion, Cœur au Zénith (Paris, cahiers libres).
He designs the cover for Vol. 5 of the magazine Minotaure. He contributes four drawings to the magazine, Cruz y Raya, Vol. 12.

1935

Contract with the Zwemmer Gallery in London to hold a single artist exhibition in November.
He illustrates the poems of Jean Paul Collet, La Vie même (Paris, G.L.M.) and he contributes drawings to La Bête noire.
He takes part in the painting and sculpture exhibition at the Collège d'Espagne in the Cité Universitaire in Paris.
In July, with the signing of a renewable contract, he makes his first contact with Daniel-Henry Khanweiler, director of the Galerie Simòn in Paris.
In September, he returns to Madrid with his family, where he will remain until the outbreak of the Civil War.

1936

He takes part in the exhibition L´art espagnol contemporain at theJeu de Paume in Paris.
Single artist exhibition at The Arts Club in Chicago.

1937

He moves to the Rue Villa Saint-Jacques, where he will remain until the end of his life.
His son Daniel is born in Paris. He is named Daniel after Daniel-Henry Khanweiler.
First single artist exhibition at the Galerie Simon.
He forms part of the Spanish Pavilion at the Petit Palais and of two group exhibitions in Stockholm and Copenhagen.

1938 Single artist exhibition at the Stanley Rose Gallery in Hollywood
1939 Single artist exhibition at the Buchholz Gallery in New York. The Second World War breaks out. He and his family move to San Juan de Luz.
1940

Paysage au crépuscule, 1940
Stay at San Juan de Luz, where he meets with Matisse almost daily.
1941

He and his family return to Paris.
He forms part of the sample collection, Vingt jeunes peintres de tradition française at the Galerie Braun in Paris.
He continues to work with the Galerie Simon and he makes an agreement with the Galerie Alfred Poyet.

1942

He works with the Galerie Renou et Colle.

1943

In view of the worsening situation in France, he travels to Madrid with his family. He returns to Paris in September, but his family will remain in Spain until 1945.
Book Presentation: Cinq peintres d´aujourd´hui (Borés, Beaudin, Gischia, Estève, Pignon), with text by Roger Lesbats, and edited by André Léjard.
He stops working with the Galerie Simon but continues to collaborate with the Galerie Renou et Colle and the Galerie Alfred Poyet.
First contact with the dealer Louis Carré, who buys some of his works.

1944

He paints one of his few large works from that period: L´Eté. Single artist exhibition at the Galerie Renou et Colle.

1945

He takes part in numerous group exhibitions, both in France and abroad: Brussels, Rome, New York, Dublin, Ottawa, Luxembourg and The Hague.

1946

Two single artist exhibitions at the Galerie de France in Paris and the Galeries Apollo in Brussels.
He takes part in the exhibition El Arte en la España Republicana - Artistas Españoles de la Escuela de París in Prague, where he exhibits his painting, Espagne (1937), and also in the Art et Résistance exhibition in Paris.
Through the Danish painter Mogens Andersen, he renews his commercial contact with Denmark and Sweden.

1947

French museums purchase his work Nature morte au biscuit, one of the numerous acquisitions that they will continue to make until the sixties, thereby attaining a large representation of Bores' work, which is distributed amongst the museums and The National Foundation.

1948

Single artist exhibition at the Kunstforeningen in Copenhagen.

1949

Four single artist exhibitions at the Galerie Moos in Geneva and Zurich, at the Galerie Per in Oslo and at the Galerie de France in Paris.
The Museum of Modern Art in New York buys L'Essayage (Souvenir imaginaire) (1934), one of the largest of Bores' paintings.

1950

Single artist exhibitions at the Galerie Pierre in Paris, at the Birchs Kunsthandel in Copenhagen, and at the Konstmuseum in Aalborg.

1951

He forms part of the group of artists who collaborate with the Galerie Louis Carré in Paris.
Single artist exhibition at the Galerie Artek in Helsinki, and at some group exhibitions: L'Ecole de París,1900-1950 exhibition at The Royal Academy of Arts in London, and also the Peintres Parisiens de la Deuxième génération at the Kunsthalle in Basle, amongst others. His first granddaughter, Anne, is born.

1952

He takes part in the Malerei en París Heute exhibition at the Kunsthaus in Zurich.

1953

He takes part in various group exhibitions in Lausanne, Turin, Gotteburg, Japan, Australia, Israel and also at the Galerie Louis Carré.

1954

First single artist exhibition at the Galerie Louis Carré, with works ranging from 1951 to 1954. A catalogue is published with illustrations and vignettes by Bores and a presentation text by Tériade.
This exhibition is repeated at the Svensk-Franska Konstgalleriet in Stockholm.

1955

He takes part in numerous group exhibitions.
First collaboration with the Carnegie Institute Award in Pittsburgh with Le Pêcheur (1953), the work chosen for the poster of the event.
From 1954 to 1959, he will regularly exhibit his works at the Galerie Charpentier in Paris at their annual exhibition dedicated to the Paris School. His grandaughter, Hélène, is born.

1956

Single artist exhibition at the Galerie Louis Carré with the catalogue prologue written by Jacques Lassaigne.
Monographic article published by Jean Grenier in the magazine L'Œil.

1957

Single artist exhibition at the Galerie Louis Carré, with the catalogue prologue by Jacques Lassaigne and an interview by Jean-José Marchand.

1958

Nature morte aux pinceaux, 1958

He takes part in the Guggenheim International Award in The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.

1959

Second collaboration with the Carnegie Institute Award in Pittsburgh with Nu devant la mer (1957).
Single artist exhibition of gouaches at the Galerie du Pont Royal in Paris.

1960

Three single artist exhibitions, two in New York at the Albert Loeb Gallery and the Pierre Berés Inc., and another at the Molton Gallery in London, mainly of works on paper.

1961


Single artist exhibition at the Galerie Marya in Copenhagen. Monographic edition of his work, published by Verve, with original lithographs and text by Jean Grenier.
He illustrates the complete works of Albert Camus (Paris, Imprimerie nationale, Editor André Sauret:1962) with a series of lithographs.

1962

Single artist exhibition at the Galerie Louis Carré in Paris.

1963

Exhibition of selected works at the Crane Kalman Gallery in London.

1964

First exhibition of gouaches at the Galerie Villand et Galanis in Paris. He designs stained glass windows for the Chapel of the Montbrison Seminary in France, and he produces a series of five linen prints to illustrate El llanto por la muerte de Ignacio Sánchez Mejias, by Federico García Lorca, for a German publication.

1966

He is nominated Officier de L'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Single artist exhibition at the Galerie Villand et Galanis, with the catalogue prologue written by R.V. Gindertael.
He illustrates Le neveu de Rameau, by Diderot, for the Propyläen publishing company in Berlin

1967

Two single artist exhibitions at the Galleria Pagani in Milan and at the Galerie Villand et Galanis.
He exhibits once more at the Salon d'Automne and at a group exhibition at the Crane Kalman Gallery

1968

He paints very few oils but experiments with felt tip pens, thereby leaving a large collection of drawings which have very special characteristics

1969 Single artist exhibition of gouaches at the Galerie Georges Bongers in Paris.
He participates in two group exhibitions: at the Crane Kalman Gallery and at the Galería Theo in Madrid.
1970 Single artist exhibition of gouaches in Esch s/Alzette, Luxembourg.
1971

Exhibition of selected works at the Crane Kalman Gallery. Exhibition of his recent works at the Gallery Theo in Madrid.
1972 Francisco Bores dies in Paris on 10th May.

Francisco BORES
Biography · Exhibitions · Work · Museums · Archives · Bibliography
e-mail: contact@franciscobores.com