What Is Solomon Saprid’s Biography?
Solomon Saprid was a Philippine artist known for his bronze sculptures that involved welding scraps of metal together, making the piece look jagged. Saprid was born on March 13, 1917. He began his career as a scientific illustrator and a textbook illustrator. He worked in the Audio Visual Department of the Federation of Christian Churches and then he taught at the University of the East.
Saprid took one semester of art classes at the University of the Philippines, then went to the University of Ohio to get a Master’s in Education. He completed the degree in 1954. He visited many art museums while living in the United States. He began entering art competitions in 1967, when he submitted his “Sad Christ” work to the Art Association of the Philippines sculpture competition.
Popular works of Saprid include “The Scholar,” “Tikbalang,” “Winged Tikbalang” and several untitled pieces. Common themes of his art include mother and child, tikbalang, Don Quixote, nude pieces, folk dance, merchants, fruits and flowers. Saprid won several art awards, including the Araw ng Maynila award in 1970. An untitled piece of his, referred to as “Interaction,” sold in 2014 for $100,212. Saprid died on September 28, 2003, during an operation.
