Born in Lisbon in 1926, Artur Bual was one of the greatest Portuguese painters of the second half of the 20th century, a pioneer of sign painting in our country, sculptor and ceramist.
He attended the António Arroio Decorative Arts School and in 1947 began his career as a painter. He was awarded a scholarship from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Paris in the years 1959/60. His first solo exhibition was in the early 1950s. He later exhibited in various spaces, such as Pórtico Galleries and Diário de Notícias Gallery in Lisbon; Gees van der Geer Gallery in Holland; Galeria do Ayuntamiento de Córdoba, Spain; Real Senado, Macao and Hong-Kong.
At the same time, he has carried out other creative functions, having been the plastic director in various plays staged at the Teatro Experimental de Cascais and Oporto. He was the graphic director of the arts and literature magazine "Catavento" and illustrated the books "Instinto Supremo" by Ferreira de Castro and "As Alegres noites de um Boticário" by Miguel Barbosa.
He is represented in various national and foreign collections, namely the Palace of Justice in Lisbon, the Modern Art Centre at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, the National Museum of Modern Art, the National Museum of Contemporary Art and the Amadora City Council. He received several prizes: the Sousa Cardoso National Prize, at the I Biennial of Paris; the 1st Prize of the Modern Art Salon of the Costa do Sol Tourism Board; the 2nd Prize of the BP Painting Contest; the Fine Arts Prize 1983; the Prize of the Magazine "Nova Gente" and Fine Arts in 1984. Furthermore, in 1997, the painter was distinguished with the Career Prize of MAC (Contemporary Art Movement).
