Lluís Graner

LLUIS GRANER ARRUFÍ (Barcelona, 1863 - 1929).
"Character.
Oil on panel.
Signed in the lower right corner.
Measurements: 25 x 19 cm; 44 x 39 cm (frame).
Defects in the frame.
As is evident in the characterization of this middle-aged man and sullen appearance, Lluís Graner was a bold portraitist, with special ability to capture familiar and close characters. Graner trained at La Lonja School in Barcelona, where he was a disciple of Benito Mercadé and Antonio Caba, and in 1886 he moved to Paris thanks to a scholarship from the Diputació de Barcelona. During his five years in the French capital he obtained two third medals in the Universal Exhibitions of Barcelona (1888) and Paris (1889). Settled again in Barcelona in 1891, he continued to participate in important international exhibitions, such as those of Berlin (1891), Munich (1892), Dusseldorf (1904). He also sent works to the National Fine Arts Exhibitions, obtaining a third medal in 1895 and 1897, second in 1901 and a decoration in 1904. That same year Graner created the Sala Mercè, designed by Gaudí, where he organized his "musical visions", shows that combined poetry with music, scenography with cinema. Finally, ruined, he moved to America. He arrived in New York in 1910, and that same year held a solo exhibition at the Edward Brandus Gallery. The success of this exhibition brought Graner important commissions, among them the portrait of the tycoon Carlos B. Alexander. After spending five months in Barcelona, Graner left again for New York, his final destination being Havana. In 1911 he left Cuba for New Orleans, and shortly thereafter he was already in San Francisco. There he inaugurated an exhibition of seventy-six paintings, held at the California Club, which was the largest solo show ever held to date in the city. During this same period he painted several tapestries for the film director David W. Griffith. Before the end of the year he is back in New York, where he again exhibits individually with great success. He continues to paint portraits of important national figures, and in 1912 he holds another key exhibition, this time at The Ralston Galleries (New York). In the following years he will continue with his brilliant international career in Brazil and Chile, to finally return to the United States, where he will remain due to the outbreak of the Great War, passing through New York, New Orleans, Chicago and other cities, always exhibiting his painting with great success. In the twenties he traveled to Argentina, Uruguay and Cuba, and finally in New Orleans he was prostrated by a serious illness that irreparably damaged his mind, also transforming his work, which lost the strength and transcendence of his previous stages. In 1928 he exhibited individually at the Ritz Hotel and at the Layetanas Galleries in Barcelona, and at the end of the year he held an important retrospective at the Sala Parés, before finally passing away in May 1929 at the age of sixty-six. His work is present in the Prado Museum, the MACBA of Barcelona, the National Art Museum of Catalonia, the Hispanic Society of New York and the Balaguer Museum of Vilanova i la Geltrú, among others, as well as in important Catalan private collections.