Adigio Benítez Jiménez

He was born in Santiago de Cuba.
In 1949 he graduated from the National School of Fine Arts "San Alejandro".

Since the mid-1940s his caricatures and political drawings appeared in various publications of the progressive press of that time. After the triumph of the Revolution he continued his work as a cartoonist and illustrator in publications such as "Hoy", "Granma" and "El Habanero", among others.

He has created poster designs, billboards and book illustrations including the poster of Jesús Menéndez, which won the Cuban Workers' Press Award in 1948, the illustrations for the poetry book "El amor como ella" by Manuel Díaz Martínez, and the "Elegía a Jesús Menéndez" by Nicolás Guillén.

His first oil paintings date from 1953, when he began a prolific career as a painter, draftsman and graphic designer. He was a founding professor of the National School of Plastic Arts and the Superior Institute of Art. In 1987 that institute granted him the special teaching category of Professor of Merit. Between 1979 and 1983 he presided over the International Association of Plastic Artists, and is currently Honorary President of this organization. He has been a member of the National Council of the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba since its creation.

He has held about twenty personal exhibitions and participated in more than one hundred national and international collective exhibitions. He has developed important work in promoting Plastic Arts as a juror for salons, competitions and commissioner of Cuban art exhibitions. He has published 4 poetry notebooks and created 6 murals. In 1994 he received the "Félix Varela" Order of the First Degree, the highest decoration awarded by the Cuban State in the cultural sector. He was awarded the 2002 National Prize for Plastic Arts granted by the National Council of Plastic Arts for his body of artistic work.

His works are part of the Cuban Art Collection of the National Museum of Fine Arts, as well as other public and private institutions and collections.