national artists

• Order of the National Artists

  Highest national recognition given to Filipino individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts
• Order of the National Artists

  • Established under Proclamation No. 1001, s. 1972
  • Administered by the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) and Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP)
  • The president of the Philippines grants this award to a person that is recommended by both institutions every three (3) years
• National Artists


  Filipino individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts
• National Artists in Architecture

  • Pablo S. Antonio
  • Juan F. Nakpil
  • Ildefonso P. Santos
  • Jose Maria V. Zaragoza
  • Leandro V. Locsin
• Edades' colors


  • Dark and somber
  • Favorite subject matter are laborers, factory workers or the simple folk in all their dirt, sweat and grime
• Guillermo Tolentino


  Hailed as the "Father of Philippine Arts"
• Guillermo Tolentino's famous works

  • Bonifacio Monument in Caloocan
  • UP Oblation in Diliman, Quezon City
• Other works by Guillermo Tolentino


  • Gold and bronze medals for the Ramon Magsaysay Award
  • Seal of the Republic of the Philippines
• Vicente Manansala


  • Cubist painter and illustrator from Macabebe, Pampanga
  • His paintings are described as "visions of reality teetering on the edge of abstraction"
• Manansala's view on art


  The beauty of art is in the process, in the moment of doing a particular painting, closely associating it with the act of making love. "The climax is just when it's really finished."
• Manansala's works


  • A Cluster of Nipa Hut
  • San Francisco Del Monte
  • Banaklaot
  • I Believe in God
  • Market Venders
  • Madonna of the Slums
  • Still Life with Green Guitar
  • Via Crucis
  • Whirr
  • Nude
• Carlos "Botong" Francisco


  A poet from Angono who single-handedly revived the forgotten art of mural and was best known for his historical pieces
• J. Elizalde Navarro


  A versatile artist, being both a proficient painter and sculptor, with a devotion to the visual arts spanning 40 years of drawing, printmaking, graphic designing, painting, and sculpting
• J. Elizalde Navarro's major mixed media works

  • I'm Sorry Jesus, I Can't Attend Christmas This Year (1965)
  • Homage to Dodjie Laurel (1969: Ateneo Art Gallery collection)
  • A Flying Contraption for Mr. Icarus (1984: Lopez Museum)
• Napoleon Abueva


  • The "Father of Modern Philippine Sculpture"
  • Adept in either academic representational style or modern abstract
  • Utilized almost all kinds of materials from hard wood to adobe, metal, stainless steel, cement, marble, bronze, iron, alabaster, coral and brass
• Napoleon Abueva's major works

  • Kaganapan (1953)
  • Kiss of Judas (1955)
  • Thirty Pieces of Silver
  • The Transfiguration (1979)
  • Eternal Garden Memorial Park
  • UP Gateway (1967)
  • Nine Muses (1994)
  • UP Faculty Center
  • Sunburst (1994)-Peninsula Manila Hotel
  • Bronze figure of Teodoro M. Kalaw in front of National Library
  • Murals in marble at the National Heroes Shrine, Mt. Samat, Bataan
• Ang Kiukok


  • A painter from Davao City who fused influences from cubism, surrealism, and expressionism in his style
  • Favored subjects such as fighting cocks, rabid dogs, and people enraptured by rage
  • Also painted multiple depictions of the crucified Christ
• Ang Kiukok's works


  • Geometric Landscape (1969)
  • Pieta, which won the bronze medal in the 1st International Art Exhibition held in Saigon (1962)
  • Seated Figure (1979), auctioned at Sotheby's in Singapore
• Abdulmari Asia Imao


  • A native of Sulu, he is a sculptor, painter, photographer, ceramist, documentary film maker, cultural researcher, writer, and articulator of Philippine Muslim art and culture
  • Through his works, the indigenous ukkil, sarimanok and naga motifs have been popularized and instilled in the consciousness of the Filipino nation and other peoples as original Filipino creations
• Abdulmari Asia Imao's works

  • Industry Brass Mural
  • Mural Relief in Filmmaking
  • Industrial Mural
  • Sulu Warriors
• Ramon Valera


  A fashion designer from Abra, known for his tradition of excellence in his works and commitment to his profession, performing magical seminal innovations on the Philippine terno
• Jose Garcia Villa


  • Considered as one of the finest contemporary poets
  • Introduced reversed consonance rhyme scheme, including the comma poems that made full use of the punctuation mark in an innovative, poetic way
• Jose Garcia Villa's published works


  • Footnote to Youth
  • Many Voices
  • Poems by Doveglion
  • Poems 55
  • Poems in Praise of Love: The Best Love Poems of Jose Garcia Villa as Chosen By Himself
  • Selected Stories
  • The Portable Villa
  • The Essential Villa
  • Mir-i-nisa
  • Storymasters 3: Selected Stories from Footnote to Youth
  • 55 Poems: Selected and Translated into Tagalog by Hilario S. Francia
• Nick Joaquin


  • Considered as the most distinguished Filipino writer in English writing
  • Critics have coined "Joaquinesque" to describe his baroque Spanish-flavored English or his reinventions of English based on Filipinisms
• Nick Joaquin's works


  • The Woman Who Had Two Navels
  • A Portrait of the Artist as Filipino
  • Manila, My Manila: A History for the Young
  • The Ballad of the Five Battles
  • Rizal in Saga
  • Almanac for Manileños
  • Cave and Shadows
• Francisco Arcellana


  • Pioneered the development of the short story as a lyrical prose-poetic form
  • Believes that the pride of fiction is "that it is able to render truth that is able to present reality"
• Francisco Arcellana's published works

  • Selected Stories (1962)
  • Poetry and Politics: The State of Original Writing in English in the Philippines Today (1977)
  • The Francisco Arcellana Sampler (1990)
• Francisco Arcellana's short stories and poems


  • Frankie
  • The Man Who Would Be Poe
  • Death in a Factory
  • Lina
  • A Clown Remembers
  • Divided by Two
  • The Mats
  • The Other Woman
  • This Being the Third Poem This Poem is for Mathilda
  • To Touch You and I Touched Her
• Levi Celerio


  • National Artist for Literature and Music
  • Prolific lyricist and composer for decades
  • Made it to the Guinness Book of World Records as the only person able to make music using just a leaf
  • Effortlessly translated/wrote anew the lyrics to traditional melodies
• Levi Celerio's traditional melodies with new lyrics

  • "O Maliwanag Na Buwan" (Iloko)
  • "Ako ay May Singsing" (Pampango)
  • "Alibangbang" (Visaya)
• Rolando S. Tinio


  • National Artist for Theater and Literature
  • Playwright, thespian, poet, teacher, critic, and translator, marked his career with prolific artistic productions
• Rolando S. Tinio's works

  • Sitsit sa Kuliglig
  • Dunung – Dunungan
  • Kristal na Uniberso
  • A Trick of Mirrors
  • Film scripts for Now and Forever, Gamitin Mo Ako, Bayad Puri and Milagros
  • Sarswelas Ang Mestisa, Ako, Ang Kiri, Ana Maria
  • Komedya Orosman at Zafira
  • Musical Larawan
• Alejandro Roces


  • Considered as the country's best writer of comic short stories
  • Champion of the Filipino culture and instrumental in popularizing several local fiestas specifically Moriones and Ati-atihan
  • Led the campaign to change the country's Independence Day from July 4 to June 12, and the language used in Philippine passports, currency, and diplomas to Filipino
• Cirilo F. Bautista


  • Multi-awarded poet, fictionist and essayist
  • Founded the Philippine Literary Arts Council in 1981, the Iligan National Writers Workshop in 1993, and the Baguio Writers Group
  • Holding regular funded and unfunded workshops throughout the country
• Cirilo F. Bautista's major works


  • Summer Suns (1963)
  • Words and Battlefields (1998)
  • The Trilogy of Saint Lazarus (2001)
  • Galaw ng Asoge (2003)
• Francisco Sionil Jose


  • One of the most widely-read Filipino writers in the English language
  • His novels and short stories depict the social underpinnings of class struggles and colonialism in our society
  • Publisher, lecturer on cultural issues, and the founder of the Philippine chapter of the international organization PEN
  • Bestowed the CCP Centennial Honors for the Arts in 1999, the Outstanding Fulbrighters Award for Literature in 1988, and the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Journalism, Literature, and Creative Communication Arts in 1980
• Edith L. Tiempo


  • Poet, fictionist, teacher, and literary critic who founded the Siliman National Writers Workshop
  • Her works are characterized by a remarkable fusion of style and substance and her poems are intricate verbal transfigurations of significant experiences
• Edith L. Tiempo's published works

  • The novel A Blade of Fern (1978), The Native Coast (1979), and The Alien Corn (1992)
  • The poetry collections, The Tracks of Babylon and Other Poems (1966), and The Charmer's Box and Other Poems(1993)
  • The short story collection Abide, Joshua, and Other Stories (1964)
• Amado V. Hernandez


  • Poet, playwright, and novelist from Hagonoy, Bulacan
  • Believes that "the function of the writer is to act as the conscience of society and to affirm the greatness of the human spirit in the face of inequity and oppression"
  • Contributed to the development of Tagalog prose through the use of colloquial style
• Amado V. Hernandez's works


  • Mga Ibong Mandaragit, his first socio-political novel written while in prison
  • Bayang Malaya
  • Isang Dipang Langit
  • Luha ng Buwaya
  • Amado V. Hernandez: Tudla at Tudling: Katipunan ng mga Nalathalang Tula 1921-1970
  • Langaw sa Isang Basong Gatas at Iba Pang Kuwento ni Amado V. Hernandez
  • Magkabilang Mukha ng Isang Bagol at Iba Pang Akda ni Amado V. Hernandez