Rafael Canogar was born in Toledo in 1935.

In 1957, in Spain, together with other plastic artists, writers, musicians, filmmakers, etc., he signed the Manifesto of the El Paso group. This group did not have a unit when it came to artistic trends but shared the objective of transforming the Spanish artistic scene.

He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Círculo de Belas Artes and of the Council of the General Directorate of Fine Arts, of the Ministry of Culture, in Madrid. Between 1984 and 1990, he was a member of the National Heritage Board of Directors. He joined the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in 1998.

With a consolidated artistic career, he has already participated in numerous exhibitions around the world and is represented in the most important public collections.

He was awarded numerous prizes such as at the Bienal de S. Paulo in 1971, the Gold Medal of the “Comunidad de Castilla La Mancha”  in 2002, the Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters in France in 1985 and, in 2001 Named Doctor Honoris Causa by the U.N.E.D.