I did not head out today for the Puerto Rican Day Parade on Fifth Avenue, instead, I am celebrating Puerto Rican culture with a parade of works by the wildly talented and prolific artist, Lorenzo Homar (1913-2004)
I urge you to read his bio on the AIGA site to really get a idea of his significance in the development of the graphic arts in Puerto Rico and his influence on a generation of artists there. Renowned as a poster designer, Homar’s talents ranged from gymnastics to calligraphy and his biography includes a Purple Heart earned during active duty in WWII, and a full time position in the design department of Cartier.
Princeton University houses an archive of 350 works. In addition to posters are a sketchbook from WWII, jewelry designs for Cartier, and roughs for posters and books. In my last post, “Picturing Coney Island,” the pencil drawing of figures at Muscle Beach was from this archive.
When you look at Homar’s work, you will see evidence of, not only the engraving skills he honed at Cartier, and his interest in sports, but the influence of some quite notable teachers. He studied with George Bridgman at the Art Student’s League during the 1930s, and after the war took classes at the Brooklyn Museum, where his teachers included Ben Shan and Rufino Tamayo.
El deporte como la expressión cultural de un pueblo, 1980 
Las Mano Del Hombre (source)
Pablo Casals, 1955
Festival Casals de Puerto Rico, Cuadragésimo Aniversario 1957-1996, 1996
Gestalt I, 1971
Two typographic posters (source)
Fotografías de Carlos Guzmán, Galería Coabey, 1980
Segunda bienal de grabado Lantinoamericano en San Juan Puerto Rico - auspiciada por el Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, 1972
Domingo García 2exposiciones, Óleos Museo U.P.R., dibujos La Casa del Arte, 1964
Domingo García en Palomas, 1984
Que libro raro, La Casa del Libro, 1966
Campeonato mundíal gimnasia, Puerto Rico, 1996,1995
The two drawings above are from Homar's sketchbook from his army days in the Philippines during World War II.
Arthur Buckley, Boston, 1944
Cartier jewelry designs, 1937
Studies for Festival Casals posters, 1957
Very bizarre gouache illustration from 1970, titled Más inglés, muchachos, más inglés!d
