Provenance: Provenance: Private Collection, Manila

ABOUT THE WORK

Tomas Bernardo, who studied art under his uncle Teodoro Buenaventura, worked in the National Museum for many years, doing botanical drawings under Dr. Eduardo Quisimbing, the country’s acclaimed botanist and former director of the museum. Also a foremost Filipino orchid painter, he won a scholarship on restoration at the Instituto Centrale di Restauro in Rome, under an Italian government grant. His knowledge on art restoration upon visiting the art centers in Germany and Belgium benefited the National Museum, as many treasures in bad shape needed restoration. Bernardo was also the first curator of the Presidential Museum in Malacanan. In between work, Bernardo would paint landscapes and still lifes, among other subjects of great interest. Lambat is one of his works created during his experimental period as an artist, as he was influenced by his associations with the Philippine Contemporary Artists Club.