20th Century. Spanish

Born in Bermeo on 1 November 1903, soon afterwards his family moved to Bilbao, where Ucelay began his primary education in 1909. In 1920 he began studying Law and Philosophy at the University of Deusto, although he quit one year later to study Chemistry in Oviedo.

However, his true vocation lay elsewhere. In 1919 he saw the International Exhibition of Painting in Bilbao, and the work of major international painters, particularly Paul Gauguin (1848-1903) and Paul Cézanne (1839-1906), left a deep impression in him. As a consequence, he decided to abandon his studies altogether and to devote himself to painting.

He made contact with the and went on to become a member and take part in its activities. With them he held his first solo exhibition in 1921, followed by others until 1936.

In 1922 he travelled to Paris where he shared a studio with Pancho Cossío (1894-1970) and became familiar with the avant-garde movements of the time. He also frequented other Spanish artists living in the French capital, including Francisco Bores (1898-1972), Manuel Ángeles Ortiz (1895-1984) and Benjamín Palencia (1894-1980), who would exert a major influence on him. He was a member of the and in 1927 exhibited his work at the in Paris.

His work started to gain followers in forward-looking art circles, particularly for his skills as a portraitist. Around this time, Ucelay forged a personal language based on refinement and stylisation, largely removed from the descriptive realism and abstraction prevailing among his colleagues.

In Madrid he was included in the 1925 exhibition of the Society of Iberian Artists. This provided him with an introduction to Madrid’s avant-garde scene and the so-called Generation of ‘27. The following year, the above-mentioned society showed his works in several exhibitions organised in Copenhagen, Berlin and Paris. This was a period of intense activity, when he also created theatre sets and contributed graphic works to successful literary publications.

In 1936, after the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, the Basque Government appointed him General Director of Fine Arts. In that capacity he played an instrumental role in the protection of the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts of Bilbao. In 1937 he was appointed curator of the Basque Pavilion at the Paris International Expo. In 1939 he went into exile to Great Britain, where he remained until 1949, when he returned to Spain to continue his prolific exhibition activity.

In the sixties, Ucelay joined the in Biscay, whose purpose was to unify styles under the common denomination of the Basque School. He died in Bilbao on 25 December 1979.