Eduardo Kingman

Eduardo Kingman Riofrío was born in Loja on February 23, 1913. Studying at the Escuela de Bellas Artes in Quito and later in the United States, Kingman emerged as a leader of the indigenist social realism movement in the 1930s.

His trademark was the portrayal of oversized, rugged, expressive hands—hands that carry heavy agricultural loads, hold crying children, or cup candles in prayer. Works such as Los Guandos and La Hora Oscura won international awards, and he founded the historic Galería Caspicara, promoting progressive Ecuadorian art for decades.