Maria Keil

Portuguese painter and illustrator, she belongs to the 2nd generation of Portuguese modernist painters.

Maria Pires da Silva was born in Silves, on 9 August 1914,

Portuguese painter and illustrator, she belongs to the 2nd generation of Portuguese modernist painters.

A striking aspect of her work and where she most distinguished herself was the tile, in which she began working in the early 1950s. Maria Keil became one of the main figures of modern renewal in this area. Her vast production included the tile panel "O mar" (The Sea), on Avenida Infante Santo in Lisbon, and her extensive work for the Lisbon Underground. Beginning in 1957, this work would continue until approximately 1972, with the inauguration of the last stations of this first phase: Arroios, Alameda, Areeiro, Roma and Alvalade. Maria Keil was the author of the panels for all the initial stations except Avenida.

In 1978, he took part in the travelling exhibition "5 Séculos de Azulejo em Portugal" (Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Brasília and Caracas); from then on, his work was part of the main exhibitions (in Portugal and abroad) dedicated to tiles in Portugal. In 1989, the National Tile Museum organised a comprehensive exhibition on this facet of her work.

In 1980, she was awarded the rank of Commander of the Military Order of Santiago da Espada. In 2008, she was honoured in Lisbon with the publication of a book she had illustrated. At the age of 94, the National Academy of Fine Arts (ANBA) honoured her with the Grand Prize for Acquisition/2009.

She died in Lisbon on 10 June 2012 at the age of 97.