Francesc Pausas, photo from Vida Catalana, Havana, 1924
Francisco (Francesc) Pausas was a painter specializing in portraits (in oils), although he also painted landscapes and other subjects. Born in Barcelona (21/4/1877), father Jaume (Sant Climent, installer) and mother Leonor. He started studying very young at the School of Fine Arts in Barcelona, and at the age of 15 he went to Madrid, where he had Joaquim Sorolla as professor; there he studied and copied the classics of the Prado Museum. When younger he participated in several collective exhibitions, for example, at the General Exhibition of Fine Arts in Barcelona (1894, 1898), at the Cercle Artístic de Sant Lluc (Sala Parés, 1895), and at the Cercle Artístic de Barcelona (1904). In 1900 he went to Paris to visit the Universal Exhibition, and in 1906 he went to New York where he remained until 1929, when he returned to Barcelona (September 1929, during the Universal Exposition in Barcelona). The doctor Antoni B. Pont (Cadaqués, 1911) described him as "No It takes a lot to sympathize with the artist ... of regular stature, thin, black hair and blond beard, dreamy brown eyes and a soft voice, almost childish; he takes in the look and tone of his voice painted his soul, all artistic."
F. Pausas performed a large part of his work during the period in NY. He first worked as an illustrator in some magazines, but quickly stood out as a painter of oil portraits, and portrayed many personalities of the culture (artists, singers, architects). On February 1st, 1912, he married Maria Sampere Montseny (1885-1953) in Manhattan, and on January 26, 1913, they had their only son, José Jaime (Pepito), who will die of appendicitis (1933) and without offspring. From NY he traveled several times to Catalonia, Panama, and especially to Cuba where he spent long stays. During trips to Catalonia he painted some landscapes on the Costa Brava (for example, in 1911 he painted landscapes in Cadaqués, Cap de Creus and Mallorca) that he later exhibited in NY; In 1910 he was appointed as the delegate of the Society of Foral Attraction of Barcelona for New York. In Panama, he painted some personalities (for example, Belisario Porras and Federico Boyd, presidents of Panama). During the periode in Cuba, he painted many portraits of personalities of the high society (politicians, artists), including country presidents (eg, Gerardo Machado and Carlos Hevia), and participates in various activities of the Catalan Center of Havana (including the decoration, along with other artists, from headquarters in Montalvo Palace, 1924). He also made some exhibitions (Convento de Santa Catalina, 1920, 47 works) and has participated several times in the 'Annual Hall of Fine Arts of Havana' (1921, 1922, 1928).
On his return to Barcelona (1929) he participates in various cultural activities in the city and surrounding areas. He exhibits his work in different galleries in Barcelona, for example, in Galeries Laietanes (1931 , 32 works; 1933 ), the Galeries Busquets ( 1935 ) and Sala Gaspar (1940 , 24 works), and at the Mar i Muntanya Mariner's Center of Sant Feliu de Guíxols (1932, 10 oils and 15 drawings).
He died on July 19, 1944 (67 years) in Barcelona; As a tribute, in 1945 an exhibition was organized in the Galeries Pallarès ; In 1946 Maria Sampere gave the portrait she had made her husband (in 1911, before marrying) at the Museum of Modern Art of Barcelona (currently integrated into the National Museum of Art of Catalonia, MNAC); this is probably the only work that is exposed to the public throughout Europe. Another exhibition of his work was performed in Vilafranca del Penedèsm in 1963.
The fact of having worked mainly in America, and not having left offspring, makes the life and work of Francesc Pausas to be quite unknown. Large part of their works are dispersed in private collections. At the moment we only know three works exposed to the public: Maria Sampere, wife of the painter (1911), at the MNAC; Portrait of Thomas U. Walter (1925), Capitol Architect, in the Capitol (Washington DC, United States); i Workers in a blacksmith shop (or Brooklyn Galvanizing Shop ), 1925, at Grohmann Museum (Wisconsin, USA). There is someone other works stored (not in public) in the MNAC (for example, Portrait of Enriqueta Corominas Cots, 1934). Probably there are works in the Capitol of Havana (Cuba). But most of his works are in private collections scattered around the world.
Francesc Pausas had a brother architect, Josep Pausas (4/10/1872 - 13/8/1928; wikipedia), who designed numerous modernist houses around Barcelona (e.g. PDF), and a sister, Enriqueta Pausas (11/20/1869 - 16 / 11/1936). At the death of Francesc, many of the works that they had at home were inherited by the children of Enriqueta (Enric and Joaquim), and currently are dispersed between grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
