Florencio Molina Campos

Florencio Molina Campos (born August 21, 1891 in Buenos Aires ; † November 16, 1959 ibid) was an Argentine illustrator and painter who was known for his depictions of the pampas . His works show humorous scenes from the life of the gauchos .

Life

Florencio Molina Campos was born in Buenos Aires to Florencio Molina Salas and Josefina del Corazón de Jesús Campos y Campos. On July 31, 1920, he married María Hortensia Palacios Avellaneda, but the marriage was divorced. Later he got to know María Elvira Ponce Aguirre, with whom he lived for many years, since remarriage was not possible for divorced people in Argentina. On March 9, 1956, the two finally got married under civil law.

Molina Campos had his first exhibition in 1926 in the Sociedad Rural Argentina. After the exhibition he was appointed art teacher at the Colegio Nacional de Avellaneda by Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear , the Argentine President at the time.

In 1930 the Alpargatas shoe factory commissioned him with twelve drawings for the company calendar. These became so popular that Molina Campos was responsible for creating the calendar for the next twelve years.

In 1942 he exhibited in the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art , after which the exhibition was shown in other cities in the United States. In 1956, Molina Campos' work was shown at the Witcomb Gallery in Buenos Aires .

Molina Campos worked as a creative consultant for his longtime friend Walt Disney from the late 1940s to the mid 1950s . During a trip to Bariloche , the two designed characters for the film Bambi , which is still one of the most famous American cartoon productions to this day. Molina Campos' contribution can be seen in the style of the animals and trees. The basis was the fauna and flora of Nahuel Huapi in Patagonia in southern Argentina .

Other results of the collaboration with Disney were Three Caballeros in Samba Fever (1942), Three Caballeros (1945), Happy, Free, Fun (1947) and the original film poster of Alice in Wonderland (1951).

A museum was set up in San Antonio de Areco in the province of Buenos Aires in honor of Molina Campos.

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personal data
SURNAME	Molina Campos, Florencio
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Argentine illustrator and painter
DATE OF BIRTH	August 21, 1891
PLACE OF BIRTH	Buenos Aires
DATE OF DEATH	November 16, 1959
Place of death	Buenos Aires