Celeste Woss y Gil

Celeste Woss y Gil (1890–1985) was an important painter from the Dominican Republic.

Early years

A native of Santo Domingo, she was the daughter of Alejandro Woss y Gil, who served briefly as president of the Dominican Republic. Her family lived in exile in France during the early years of her life, then moved to Cuba. Woss y Gil began her formal art studies at the Painting Academy in Santiago de Cuba, under the instruction of José Joaquín Tejada. She participated in an exhibition in Santiago de Cuba in 1911. In 1922, she moved to New York to continue her studies, enrolling at the Art Students League. Her work was first exhibited in the United States in 1923.

Nude, 1941 (Museo de Arte Moderno, Santo Domingo)

Career as an artist and teacher

In 1924 Woss y Gil returned to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, to open a small art school. In order to promote the school, she held a solo exhibition of her works that was well received.

In 1928, she moved back to New York to study human anatomy and broaden her artistic range. Upon her return to Santo Domingo in 1931, she opened a painting and drawing academy. Noted painter Gilberto Hernández Ortega was among her many students. Later, she was a professor at the National School of Fine Arts, which was founded in 1942. As an artist, she is known primarily for her female portraits and nudes.

Celeste Woss y Gil died in Santo Domingo in 1985.

References

• De los Santos, Danilo, Memoria de la pintura dominicana, Volumen 2, Santo Domingo: Grupo León Jimenes,2003.
• La arte de la República Dominicana
• Veerle Poupeye. Caribbean Art. London; Thames and Hudson; 1998.