TTorres-Garcia was born in Montevideo, Uruguay but in 1891 the family returned to his parents' homeland. In Barcelona Joaquin enrolled in art school. Recognition came in 1903 when Antoni Guadi invited the younger artist to collaborate on creating stained glass windows for the (still incomplete as of today) cathedral Sagrada Familia.
Torres-Garcia began teaching at the Mount D'or School in Barcelona in 1907.A proponent of the progressive pedagogy of Maria Montessori, he included making of wooden toys in his curriculum He got the idea to make toys with detachable parts to encourage the students to be creative.
During a stay in Paris in 1912, he discovered Cubism But the need to make a living turned him into an itinerant artist who would crisscross the Atlantic several times. Visiting New York City and meeting the Dutchman Piet Mondrian influenced his toy-making; the constructions became more geometrical and the surfaces arose from the construction rather than applied as decoration.
By the time of his death in New York in 1949, Torres-Garcia was recognized as an important figure in introducing modernism in the Americas. His paintings are included in the collections of Reina Sofia in Madrid, Centre Pompidou in Paris and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Image - Joaquin Torres-Garcia - untitled toy, circa 1917-1932, oil painted on carved wood, Ortizar Prijects, NYC.