Menchu Gal

Menchu Gal was a Spanish artist (Irún, Spain, 1919–San Sebastián, Spain, 2008), linked to the renewal of postwar Spanish painting. She began her training in Irún with Gaspar Montes Iturrioz and, at a very young age, travelled to Paris, where she took classes with Amédée Ozenfant and discovered the work of Henri Matisse and Fauvism. In the early 1940s, she settled in Madrid, where she became part of the circle of the Escuela de Madrid and attended classes at the San Fernando Academy of Fine Arts.

Her painting is known for its expressive use of color, light, and a personal view of landscape, especially that of her native region and other Spanish territories. She also worked with portraiture, still life, and urban scenes.

Her work is part of collections such as the Museo Reina Sofía, the Bilbao Fine Arts Museum, the Banco de España Collection, and Irún City Council. She presented exhibitions in institutions such as Museo San Telmo, Museo de Navarra, IVAM, Centro Cultural Conde Duque, and Espacio Cultural Serrería Belga. Her awards include the National Painting Prize in 1959, which she received as the first woman to be awarded this distinction, and the Gold Medal of Gipuzkoa in 2005.