Artist Lolita Valderrama Savage receives prestigious Premio Lorenzo il Magnifico award from her ‘beloved Firenze’

Behind Lolita is the Palazzo Vecchio, as she stands flanked by Florentine men in medieval costumes.

Philippine-born international artist Lolita Valderrama Savage was awarded with the distinguished Premio Lorenzo Il Magnifico for 2017, a prestigious award granted by the Academia Internazionale Medicea (The International Medici Academy) in Florence, Italy.

Lolita, a painter noted for her lively landscapes and nature scenes, was one of the 10 international recipients of the award. A conferment ceremony was held on June 10 at the Salone dei Cinquecento at Palazzo Vecchio, home to the government of the City of Florence and birthplace of the Italian Renaissance.

She joins the pantheon of honorees in the past that include opera singer Luciano Pavarotti, actor Vittorio Gassman, and many other prominent achievers in the arts, politics, business, the sciences, humanities, and other fields. She is the first Filipino to be in this carefully selected community of world-renowned artists.

“My beloved Firenze,” writes an elated Lolita on her Facebook page. “June 10, 2017 was indeed a precious day for me as an international fine artist.” Florence brings her back to the ‘70s. It was at the Palazzo Strozzi where she exhibited her first paintings, as part of an international group.

The award was named after Lorenzo de’ Medici (or Lorenzo the Magnificent), a statesman who ruled Florence from 1478 to 1492. He was not only a compelling political leader but also as a staunch patron of the Renaissance, a cultural movement that saw a blossoming of the arts. It was during this Golden Age that masters like Leonardo Da Vinci (“Mona Lisa,” “The Last Supper”) and Sandro Botticelli (“Birth of Venus,” Sistine Chapel) emerged as wildly creative artists whose works continue to be revered and enjoyed by audiences around the world.

Lolita at the Great Hall of Udienza audience chamber where she received her plaque and certificate.

“The Accademia Internazionale Medicea grants the Lorenzo il Magnifico award to individuals, organizations, and institutions that have excelled in their fields of work: arts, politics, business, science, medicine, and have in effect contributed to the cultural well-being of the entire world, just as the artists, intellectuals, poets, architects, scientists did during the time of Lorenzo’s Renaissance,” Lolita said in an email interview with The FilAm.

“As a Filipino American, who has lived in different parts of the globe, a prestigious recognition like this is a testimony that my hard work and love for the art, as well as my belief in using art as a means of building friendship and understanding among diverse cultures have had positive results.”

Lolita began to draw while still in school. She recalled with amusement during the Ma-Yi Theater Company benefit gala — where she was honored for her support for Asian American theater — how her mother did not quite encourage her passion because like some Filipino parents who want their children to be financially sustainable, “There’s no money in the arts.”

Ultimately, she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Santo Tomas in Manila and a Diploma from the Accademia di Belle Arte in Florence, Italy under the supervision of Professor Silvio Loffredo. She lived in Sweden for many years, painting with her late mentor, the artist Steffan Hallstrom. It was in Sweden where Lolita was deeply inspired by Nature and eventually, it became her favorite subject in painting.

Lolita’s lively nature and people paintings

She has exhibited in the U.S. and throughout Europe. She was one of eight internationally acclaimed artists presented at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland in 1999. In that same year, her work was exhibited in a month-long solo show at the “Casa de Dante (Alighieri)” in Florence. After almost 40 years away from Manila, Lolita went back to show her paintings at the Ayala Museum, then later at the University of Santo Tomas Museum of Art and Sciences.

In 2006 after an exhibition in Paris, she participated in the “Art for Peace” auction at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. In 2013-2014, she became the first Filipina-American to have a solo exhibition at the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi in Florence. Last year, she presented her paintings at the Stamford Museum and Nature Center, a special cultural exhibition that was jointly sponsored by the State of Connecticut, the City of Stamford, The City of Florence and Region of Tuscany, Italy and the Philippine Consulate in New York City.

She paints with oils, pastels, ink, pencil or watercolors, expressing her many moods and inner voice but always, she said, reflecting “the beauty of nature that I see in the world around me.” Her artworks are in private collections in US, Europe and Asia.

Lolita lives in Connecticut with her husband Frank Savage, an international finance businessman and author of the book “The Savage Way.” They have three grown children, Fredrik Antoine, Frank Alexander and Grace Savage-Loughborough.

“In my long-time career as an artist, I have always made sure that my art is used to give honor to my Filipino people and the country of my origin, the Philippines,” she said.

Copyright (C) 2017 The FilAm

Lolita’s family from left: Son-in-law Thomas Loughborough, daughter Grace, husband Frank, former Philippine Ambassador to Italy Virgilio Reyes, son Fredrik Antoine, and friend Samantha Keiko at Lolita’s exhibition opening at Stamford Museum and Nature Center in Connecticut in 2016.