Francisco ('Pancho') Gutiérrez Cossío's parents came from Cantabria in northern Spain. They ran a tobacco company in Cuba, but returned to Santander when Cuba became independent in 1898. He took up painting following a leg injury in childhood. He moved to Madrid and began to study under the guidance of Cecilio Pla. During his classes he met Francisco Bores, with whom he struck up a friendship that took them both to Paris. In 1921 he staged an exhibition at the Ateneo in Santander that proved highly controversial for its avant-garde approach. He travelled to Paris in 1923 and remained there until 1932. During that time he became a member of the so-called Spanish school of painting there. He took part in the Exhibition of Iberian Artists in 1923, in the Salon del Independants and in the Salon d'Automne, where his work received much praise from critic Christian Zervos in the pages of the specialist magazine Cahiers d’art. On his return to Spain he gave up painting until 1942, when he produced portraits of his mother. However for the rest of his career he was to specialise mainly in still-lifes and maritime scenes. He made his name once and for all at his exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in 1950. He won the First Place medal at the National Fine Arts Exhibition in 1954 and the Medal of Honour at the 1962 edition. The New York World's Fair of 1965 and the National Exhibition of 1966 each featured a room devoted to his work. He produced two large paintings extolling the Carmelite Order in Madrid. He also produced engravings, which were published by Ediciones La Rosa Vera. He stands alongside María Blanchard as one of the finest Cantabrian artists in the Spanish avant garde.

Maite Méndez Baiges