Enrique Grau

Enrique Grau Araújo was born on December 18, 1920, and raised in the historic walled city of Cartagena. Winning an honorable mention at the First National Salon in 1940, he studied at the Art Students League of New York and the San Marcos Academy in Florence.

Grau developed a distinctive figurative style featuring theatrical props, bird cages, lace, and masked figures, culminating in his celebrated series of paintings portraying Afro-Caribbean matriarchs (such as La Mulata Cartagenera). Alongside Botero, Obregón, Negret, and Ramírez Villamizar, he transformed 20th-century Colombian art. He donated his private collection to create the Casa Museo Grau in Bogotá.