Legacy of a Portuguese Painter
Alberto de Castro, born, 1952, of Portuguese parents, in Huambo, Angola, spent his formative years in Spain studying painting before immigrating to Montreal, 1969. Mounting several one-man exhibitions, Alberto won the commission to paint a mural for the Portuguese Pavilion at the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games. Alberto moved to Toronto, 1980, Legacy of a Portuguese Painter Legacy of a Portuguese Painter where his painting style followed the Näif school. Before he died, 1995, age 42, he felt that “Canada was to him what Tahiti was to Gauguin.” Examples of his work are found in Europe, in the Ontario Provincial Legislature, Toronto’s Our Lady of Lourdes Church, the Portuguese Consulate, Toronto, and in the corporate offices of Shell, IBM, Imperial Oil, and Sanyo. In 1985, his paintings were used on UNICEF Christmas cards and, in 1986, he exhibited at the third annual Salon international d’art näif, Paris. Many of his works are kept at the Casa do Alentejo, Toronto’s Portuguese Community Centre, including this canvas called O Regresso do Emigrante, opposite, capturing the joy of a mother hugging her son upon returning to his birthplace in Portugal. [Photo, courtesy Casa do Alentejo]