Vicente Alvarez Dizon

The Masterpiece Found At Last!

      70 years after it left Philippine shores, the famous first-prize-winning painting “After the Day’s Toil” is finally located! The masterpiece was bought in 1980 by Dr. Rogelio Pine, a Filipino cardiologist who is based in New Jersey. He bought it from Mr. Daniel Grossman of Grossman Gallery who previously bought it when IBM New York unloaded several paintings in the late 70’s. For several decades, the Dizon family tried to locate the painting which last visited the Philippines in 1952 at the Philippine International Fair. That was the last time the family saw the painting and came to know the painting’s whereabouts only recently.

       This masterpiece was painted in 1936 as the graduation thesis of the late Professor Vicente Alvarez Dizon (of the U.P. College of Fine Arts) during his post-graduate scholarship studies at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut.

      After Professor Dizon came home, he settled in Malate, Manila and and continued to teach as a full professor of Art at the Mapua Institute of Technology (1937- 41) and continued to lecture at the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts. When he came back to the Philippines, he introduced the Art of Finger Painting and he was invited to lecture and demonstrate the new medium and technique in Manila and around Central Luzon.

      In 1939, Mr. Thomas Watson, founder of International Business Machines (IBM) thought of holding an International Art Competition at the Golden Gate Exposition. He sent his representative, Mr. Kevin Mallen, to 79 countries all over the world. Mr. Mallen went to see Vicente at their residence in 1111 A. Mabini St., Manila. He came to take a look at Vicente’s painting “After the Day’s Toil” and after seeing it, he right-away purchased it for IBM. It was framed and shipped to the U.S.A. and included in the International Competition on Contemporary Art of 79 Nations at the Golden Gate Exposition in San Francisco, California. In this historic competition, “After the Day’s Toil” won First Place by popular vote. The entry of Spain by Salvador Dali won Second Place, and the entry of the United States won Third Place. The French Impressionist Maurice Utrillo also had an entry here but did not win.

The Golden Gate International Exposition was held in order to celebrate the city’s two new bridges. The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge was dedicated on November 12, 1936; the Golden Gate Bridge was dedicated on May 27, 1937; and on August 26, 1937, dredging for Treasure Island, the site of the Fair, was complete. Treasure Island, an island which is completely flat was in the middle of the Bay Bridge near Yerba Buena Island. The Fair ran from February 18 through October 29 in 1939, and from May 25 through September 29 in 1940.

  “Unity of the Pacific nations is America's concern and responsibility. San Francisco stands at the doorway to the sea that roars upon the shores of all these nations; and so to the Golden Gate International Exposition I gladly entrust a solemn duty. May this, America's world's fair on the Pacific in 1939, truly serve all nations”. - President Franklin D. Roosevelt

      Born on April 5, 1905 in Malate, Manila, Vicente’s parents were Jose Sampedro Dizon, a native of Bacolor, Pampanga and Rosa Carlos Alvarez, of Concepcion, Tarlac. His father (University of Santo Tomas 1897) was a landscape artist, and botanist-agronomist for the Bureau of Agriculture. As an agronomist and agricultural inspector, Mr. Jose S. Dizon was assigned to several towns like Capas, Tarlac, Magalang, Pampanga, San Isidro, Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija. Vicente had his early schooling at Malate Primary School, then continued his intermediate studies in the towns where his father was assigned.

      His father wanted him to study Medicine and he obeyed. He attended the National University College of Medicine (1921-23). He later transferred to the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts and took a 5-year course and graduated with an Art Diploma in 1928. After graduation, he became the first artist-lecturer of the Philippines. He is also distinguished as one of the first Filipinos to win important scholarships abroad, such as those awarded him by the Federal Schools of Art, Minneapolis, Minnesota. On his own, he applied for a scholarship and was accepted at the Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, U. S. A.

      In 1936, during his stay in Yale, Vicente was the first Filipino to be elected as one of the 12 members of the “Yale Phi Alpha”, a singular honor since only 12 members were elected each year from the more than 300 students. It was also during his stint in Yale that he painted his famous painting “After the Day’s Toil” as his thesis. Because of his studiousness and enthusiasm, he was given assignments during summer, so after just one and a half years (instead of 3 years) he graduated on June 7, 1936 with a degree of Bachelor of Fine Arts with Distinction, from Yale University. He specialized in Painting, Mural Decoration, Composition, General Art Education, and Museum Administration. 

      He then went home to the Philippines and continued to teach as a full professor of Art at the Mapua Institute of Technology (1937-41). When he came back to the Philippines, he introduced the Art of Finger Painting and he was invited to lecture and demonstrate the new medium and technique in Manila and around Central Luzon. He also did his famous Chalk Talk lectures (where somebody from the audience was asked to draw any form or line on the black board and he would then transform this into a recognizable object or figure).

      After winning this prestigious award, Vicente continued to teach and was a faculty member of the University of the Philippines School of Fine Arts where he lectured on History of Art (1940-47) and at the UP college of Education, where he also lectured on Art and Interior Decoration (1946-47). Likewise, he was an associate professor in Painting and Theory of Arts. He was appointed member of the Alumni Committee for reorganization of the UP School of Fine Arts in 1938. He was also an artist and historical consultant in the U.S. Army, 5^th Air Force Command at Clark Field from February to August 1945.

      During the war years, he secretly started recording life during those difficult times and finished 30 colorful and dramatic war paintings which he titled” From Japanese Invasion to American Liberation, As My Brush Saw It”. He is also the author of 2 books one of which was published: “Art Education and Appreciation” and “Living As An Art”, which was never published. He is considered as the pioneer of Art Education in the Philippines.

      Prof. Dizon was married to Ma. Ines Lutgarda S. Henson of Angeles, Pampanga and their marriage was blessed with four children, namely Victor and Daniel (twins), Luminoso and Josefina. Only Daniel and Josefina

became professional artists. In early 1947, while in the process of reorganizing the U.P. School of Fine Arts, Prof. Dizon fell seriously ill which led to his demise on October 19, 1947 at the tender age of 42. His fellow-countrymen will remember him as the first Kapampangan in Philippine History to be awarded First Prize in a global art competition. Art historians of the Philippines will also remember him as the only Filipino professional artist to record in thirty paintings the Japanese Occupation of the Philippines and American Liberation.