January 26, 1930: Napoleon Abueva was born in Tagbilaran, Bohol
On January 26, 1930, Napoleon Abueva, the "Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture", was born in Tagbilaran, Bohol.
In 1976, at the age of 46, he was named National Artist of the Philippines for Visual Arts by the late President Ferdinand Marcos. He was the youngest recipient of the prestigious award.
Finishing his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture at the University of the Philippines (UP) in 1953 and his eventual pursuit of his studies abroad, Abueva helped shape the local sculpture scene in the Philippines.
Adept in both academic representational style and modern abstract, Abueva has utilized almost all kinds of materials from hard wood (molave, acacia, langka (jackfruit) wood, ipil, kamagong, palm wood and bamboo to adobe, metal, stainless steel, cement, marble, bronze, iron, alabaster, coral and brass.
Notably, Abueva received much recognition as early as his college years, during which he was mentored by Guillermo Tolentino, the first National Artist for Sculpture and creator of the UP Oblation.
For three years in a row (1951-1953), he won first prize and best entry awards in sculpture in the Art Association of the Philippines annual competition.