© Daniel Quintero

Daniel Quintero was born in Málaga, Spain in 1949. He spent much of his childhood in Málaga and in Melilla on the north coast of Africa. In 1959 he moved with his family to Madrid. He studied drawing and painting with the artist Amadeo Roca at the Roca Academy and in 1967 began studying at the Beaux Arts School in San Fernando where he was taught by the renowned Spanish realist painter Antonio López García.

Quintero exhibited with Juana Mordó Gallery, Madrid, and, from 1975, has been represented by Marlborough Fine Art, London. In the mid-1970s he lived and worked in Cornwall and London, later spending time in Dublin. He returned to Spain in 1979 and now divides his time between Madrid and New York. Working within a predominantly realist tradition, his paintings and drawings (both portraiture and landscapes) are held in public collections throughout Europe and the USA.

This large, almost life-size portrait of curator and art historian Sir Norman Rosenthal was painted in 1996, mid-way through Sir Norman’s 30 year-tenure as Exhibitions Secretary of the Royal Academy and was executed in Madrid. Using light earthy tones, Quintero portrays his subject in a confident yet relaxed mood with a somewhat questioning air. It is believed to be the first portrait of this iconic and charismatic figure to enter a UK museum collection and was presented to the collection by the artist in 2013. Quintero’s other portrait commissions include the King and Queen of Spain, and the Nobel Prize winner Severo Ochoa.