Carlos Mérida

Born in Guatemala City. Moved to Mexico in 1919. He began studying painting at the Institute of Arts and Crafts in Guatemala City and in Quetzaltenango. He traveled to Europe in 1910, where he studied in Paris with Van Dongen and Modigliani. In 1922, he worked with the muralist’s organization, Syndicate of Technical Workers, Painters and Sculptors. He abandoned his figurative style in favor of biomorphic abstract forms after returning to Paris in 1927. In 1942, Merida taught painting at the North Texas State Teachers College in Denton and lived in New York during the 1940s. After his returned to Mexico in 1949, Merida participated in several architectural projects including mosaic murals in Mexico City and the civic center in Guatemala City in 1956.