Manuel Izquierdo (1925-2009) was a major talent and charismatic personality in Oregon’s modern art movement in the second half of the twentieth century. This book traces his compelling story of poverty-stricken origins in Madrid, his introduction to woodworking by his cabinet-maker grandfather, his childhood escape from Spain following the Spanish Civil War and emigration from France during World War II, and his life as a sculptor and printmaker in Portland from the 1940s to the twenty-first century.

Inspired by mythology, nature, and art ranging Goya to Surrealism, Izquierdo’s work is sometimes somber, often festive, and always fascinating with a combination of tradition, modern art, and a world view informed by his odyssey from war-torn Europe to the Pacific Northwest.