Zuniga, Francisco, 1912-1998

Francisco Zuniga was born in Costa Rica in 1912. As a youth he studied drawing at the School of Fine Arts of San Jose. He had intended to study in Europe but was unable to, due to the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. Instead he went to Mexico where he was influenced by the prehispanic sculptures in the Anthropology Museum in Mexico City. In 1938 Zuniga joined the faculty of "La Esmeralda," the prestigious Mexican school of painting and sculpture of the National Institute of Fine Arts. As a sculptor and a painter, Zuniga's works consist almost exclusively of the human female figure. Over his lifetime Zuniga had over 50 individual showings and his works are owned by galleries and museums worldwide. Francisco Zuniga died August 9, 1998 in Mexico City.

From the guide to the Francisco Zuniga collection, 1945-1980, (University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections)