Some works of Miquel Montanola

A recent post to CW reminded me of this artist's surreal work, so much so, that I had to look him up in my collection catalog. Probably not the same artist, though he used several pseudonyms, but the same surreal style. I have all three of these framed paintings in storage somewhere. Not really to my taste but they were so well done and inexpensive that I had to buy a few maybe 15 years ago....

"Fishermen at Cabo San Lucas", Montanola, 20" x 24", oil, 1983
"Castle Village", Montanola, 20" x 24", oil, 1981
"Home through the fields", M A Gomez Montanola, 20" x 24", oil, 1981

Miguel Angel Gomez (Cruz) was born on 29 December 1906 in Guayaquil, Ecuador. He used several pseudonyms, including Montanola and MA Gomez. His last name appears in records as both Gomez and Cruz (his mother's maiden name). I have seen a few claims that paintings signed "Montanola" are some kind of scam, or "made in China", but they do in fact appear to be genuine and created by Miguel Gomez Cruz. All of the paintings that I have seen which can be attributed to him with certainty are signed Montanola and dated with the year. I have seen other images without a date, which appear to be of a slightly different style. They may be older works, or by another artist. I found a centennial memorial article of his birth from a Guayaquil newspaper that confirms his identity and details of his career. The dates of his birth and death, and the maiden name of his mother are reported in the California Death Index, and agree with what is presented in the newspaper article.

http://www.eluniverso.com/2006/12/29/0001/18/F23162F4D3874DCC9F9237C912A30D0F.html

Miguel was a painter, illustrator, and caricaturist. He studied lithography at the Guyayas Philanthropic Society of Guayaquil. He worked for thirty six years as a cartoonist for El Universo, a Guayaquil newspaper, the most prominent newspaper in Ecuador. He worked as both an editorial and comic strip artist for El Universo. He created several well known Ecuadorian cartoon characters, including Juan Pueblo and Saeta and Rafles (1924). His work in comics and his pseudonym, Montanola, are mentioned in an Ecuadoran comic blog. He also created political cartoons and included political messages in his comic strips. Much of his caricature work was done under the pseudonym "M. A. Gomez". He enjoyed a lengthy career as a cartoonist and artist in Ecuador, exhibiting his artwork at home and in the US. Miguel also designed a well known Ecuadoran/Mexican ventriloquist's dummy, Don Roque. He competed in the International Editorial Cartoon competition in 1960, winning first prize for Latin America and third place in the International Competition. His biography notes that he won many prizes for exhibiting his art, but does not give any specifics. Cruz is not mentioned in any art reference book that I have access to, possibly due to his use of a pseudonym. I did find a few mentions of auctions of his works. I have not been able to discover when he emigrated to the US, but suspect it was about 1980.

The paintings in my collection come from a seller who purchased a collection of 229 of Montanola's paintings. Accompanying the collection was the artist's catalog on 3" x 5" cards. I am working with the seller to find a home for this catalog. I like the style and richness of Montanola's work. I am not sure if he exhibited in California while he lived there.

Gomez retired to Burbank, California, where he died on 9 January 1994. He reportedly painted hundreds of oil paintings while living in California. Though, very interesting, his work has only decorative value.