Manuel Castro

Manuel Castro was born in 1945, in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal.
He is a self taught painter who started his career in 1987. He paints scenes of rural life and Portuguese traditional labour activities with great detail .

He is considered by art critics as one of the best European Naïf painters. In 2006, he had an individual exhibition at the "Monte Seis Reis Art Gallery” in Estremoz, Portugal. Since 1987 he has participated in about 50 collective exhibitions in several countries, namely, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, United States of America, France and Italy.

In his “curriculum” Manuel Castro includes more than 30 distinctions and honourable mentions, several of them worth mentioning: 1993, 1st Prize European Community, Palacio Foz, Lisbon, Portugal; 1994, 2nd Prize “Cultures and Evangelization Foundation”, Lisbon, Portugal,; 1996, 2nd Prize, “Art’s Masters Paris Monaco” Brussels, Belgium; 1st Prize “Master-Finalist” in New York, USA; 2001, 1st Prize “Bacco D´Oro”, in Castelvetro, Italy; 2003, 1st Prize at the “Art Naïf Museum” in Lousã, Portugal; 2005, 1st Prize “Varenna Nautic Club at Art Naif International Prize Gianniino Grossi”, Varenna.

Manuel Castro’s work his held at the “Art Naive International Museum, Jaén”, Spain, at the “Arte Naive Museum” in Lousã, Portugal, at the “Portuguese Foundation for Communication”, Lisbon, Portugal, at the “Cultures and Evangelization Foundation” and at the “Information Cultural Centre for Azeite(Olive Oil)” both in Lisbon, Portugal and also in many private and public collections throughout Europe.