Antonio Martorell

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Antonio Martorell was born on April 18, 1939 in Santurce, Puerto Rico. He is the son of Antonio Martorell II and Luisa Cardona. He is the first of three children. He is a well known puertorican painter, graphic's artist, writer and radio and television personality. He first started showing interest in arts as a small child with drawings. He studied Diplomacy at Washington DC and then went to study Painting with Julio Martín Caro at Madrid. When he came back to Puerto Rico he started working at the workshop of Lorenzo Homar at the "Instituto de Cultura de Puerto Rico". He currently is the Resident Artist of the Colegio Universitario de Cayey and directs the Museum Ramon Frade at the same institution.

As a writer, Martorell has written books such as La Piel de la Memoria (The Skin of Memory), and El Libro Dibujado (The Drawn Book). Martorell currently writes a column for Escenario, a section of Puerto Rican newspaper El Vocero.

He was the winner of the "Bienal de Arte de San Juan", and has illustrated books of several authors including Alma Rosa Flor, Heraclio Cepeda and Pura Belpré. He also illustrated the "ABC de Puerto Rico" of Troutman Press, this book was later burned by the Educational Department of Puerto Rico under Romero Barceló's administration.

His house in Cayey, PR, was subjected to arson in November of 2006, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in art were lost.

He currently has a workshop in Ponce and another in New York. He is also the father of a famous dancer Alejandra Martorell and a proud grandfather.