J. Borges Postcard - Puppy

Black and white woodcut of a dog with a splendid collar and wagging tongue.

Measures 6" x 4.25". Generic postcard back with notation of artwork and square for a postage stamp.

J. Borges was born in the countryside in Pernambuco, Brazil in 1935. His family had a farm where he worked until he was 8 years old and by age 12, he attended school for the first time, but only for 10 months because his teacher moved away.

At seventeen, his family moved to a city. By this time,, he had worked as a carpenter, peddler, wall painter, potter, and more. As a child, his father had read to him from cordel leaflets, (small chapbooks sold on the street and at fairs) and in the city, he began to sell them at popular fairs. Often on the front of the cordel leaflets were woodcut prints as illustrations. In 1964, he wrote his first cordel leaflet and later created his first woodcut, depicting the facade of a church. This was the beginning of his life as an artist.

Chance meetings with authors and poets who sought his artwork for their books brought him recognition and a profession as an artist in Brazil.

J. Borges' woodcuts have been exhibited in many countries in Europe and Latin America, as well as in the United States, in museums, galleries, and cultural events.

He was awarded the Order of Merit by Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso. In 2002, he received the UNESCO award in the Educational / Cultural Action category and was chosen to illustrate the United Nations annual calendar, where his woodcut "Life in the Forest" opened the year.

In 2006, he was featured in The New York Times and was declared a Living Heritage by the State of Pernambuco.