Maria Luisa Penne

Background

Doña María Luisa was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico on September 11, 1913.

Education

Doña Maria Luisa attended the Pratt Institute in New York from 1932 to 1935 and became the first Puerto Rican woman to graduate from the prestigious art and design institute. She continued her studies, obtaining a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Puerto Rico in 1939 and a master"s in Art from the Art Institute of Chicago in 1947. Her doctoral studies were conducted at Columbia University in New New York

After returning to Puerto Rico, Mistress

Castillo or "la teacher" - as she was known to her disciples - began to work for the empowerment of women in the art world, a field traditionally reserved for male members of society.

She firmly believed in the importance of education as a means to achieve such empowerment. Therefore, she decided to get involved in the field of art education.

Penne Rullan designed and implemented the art curriculum for the Polytechnic Institute of San Germán (now known as the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico) and for the Colegio de Mayaguez also known as the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez.

She was Head of the Department of Fine Arts at both institutions from 1940–1961 and 1961–1980, respectively.

Career

Penne died in San Juan, Puerto Rico in October 2005. Among Penne"s students was Rafael Rivera Garcia. Some of her art work can be seen at the collection of the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture and at the Museum of Art of Puerto Rico.

Achievements

• She firmly believed in the importance of education as a means to achieve such empowerment.

Membership

After returning to Puerto Rico, Mistress Castillo or "la teacher" - as she was known to her disciples - began to work for the empowerment of women in the art world, a field traditionally reserved for male members of society.