Agapito Labios
Mexico
(1898 – 1996)
Agapito Engel Cifuentes was born in September 1898 in Pachuca, Hidalgo. His artistic career began in prison, where he painted on the walls to pass the time while serving a sentence for his involvement in the Mexican Revolution. The mayor of the town became interested in his work and hired him to paint portraits of his daughters. Labios found a very lucrative market niche with this type of painting and continued to paint children, along with his contemporary Horacio Rentería, for the rest of his life. He started selling his paintings at the Lagunilla market in Mexico City and later opened his own antique and crafts store, where he continued to sell his works. Katherine Hepburn was one of the high-profile collectors who had Labios' works on her walls. His son, also named Agapito, continues the tradition today, although his paintings, mostly watercolors, do not have the detailed embroidery or elaborate backgrounds as his father's creations. Agapito Labios passed away in 1996. His work continues to be valued for the sense of nostalgia it evokes, taking us back to an important moment in Mexico's history.