Artist Profiles > M > Anita Magsaysay-Ho
Anita Magsaysay-Ho (1914-2012) is often hailed as the greatest woman filipino painter today.
While she has a distinct subject matter––celebrating the Filipino woman-mostly peasants-at work––Magsaysay-Ho’s painting styles have evolved over time, from bold brushwork and strong contrasts of dark and light tones to softening and graceful, almost choreographed lines, to a whole new style influenced by Chinese calligraphy and finally a “Green Period” where many of the figures seemed to resemble fruits and plants themselves with solid, highly refined, bold colours.
Magsaysay-Ho is the subject of a biography by Alfredo Roces, “In Praise of Women,” published in 2005. She states, in the text; “In my works I always celebrate the women of the Philippines. I regard them with deep admiration and they continue to inspire me—their movements and gestures, their expressions of happiness and frustration; their diligence and shortcomings; their joy of living. I know very well the strength, hard work and quiet dignity of Philippine women, for I am one of them.”