Aguerre, Rómulo R.

He was born in Montevideo on May 30, 1919. From a young age, he studied drawing and painting with his uncle Ricardo Aguerre. In 1933, he started working as a messenger in the photography section of the newspaper "El Pueblo". In 1936, he became part of the staff of the newspaper "El Plata" as a photography apprentice. After a brief partnership with Hector Dallera and other photographers, in 1937 he set up his first photographic studio on Maldonado Street. His studio and laboratory were relocated several times, first from Maldonado Street to Ejido; in 1950 to Avenida 18 de Julio; in 1960 to Colonia, where in 1968 he added an art gallery with the aim of working with productions by national and Argentinean visual artists; and in 1970 to Durazno Street. In 1970, he opened an Art Gallery in Punta del Este, Maldonado. In the 1950s and 1960s, while continuing his studio work, he began a sustained investigation and experimentation in the area of abstract photography. In 1953, he exhibited for the first time in a collective show, within the framework of the V Photography Salon of Montevideo. The following year, he held an individual exhibition at the Faculty of Architecture, continuing thereafter with a wide succession of exhibitions. Throughout his life, he received various awards: in 1854, the first prize for International Photography at the Biennial of Photographic Art held in Bern, Switzerland; acquisition prize at the National Salons of 1969, 1972, 1980, 1982, and 1983, and the first prize at the XVI Municipal Salon of Visual Arts in 1978; in 1972, he was selected by the French Alliance as "The Best of the Year", among other distinctions. In 1970, alongside his activities as an independent photographer, he joined the Department of Art Conservation at the Legislative Palace, obtaining the position of chief photographer. He remained in this position steadily, except for some years during the dictatorship period, until his retirement. He died in Montevideo in November 2002.