Ángel Acosta León (b. in Havana, Cuba 1930–1964) was a Cuban painter. His style owes much to surrealism, and expresses the pain he felt through much of his life. Animal, human and mechanical forms abound in his paintings, along with wheels, a reference to his lifelong fantasy of being a bus driver. His work has been compared to that of Wols. Leon was born on August 2, 1932 in the Buena Vista quarter of Havana, one of ten children of Angel Acosta Febles and Magdalena de Leon Hernandez. Leon attended the Catholic School for Poor Boys. In 1952, he entered the San Alejandro National School of Fine Arts, and graduated in 1958. His work was praise by the critics of his time who declared him “sensational” when he first exhibited in Europe. Salvador Dali and Roberto Matta were among his admirers and supporters. León committed suicide at the age of thirty-four. “Ángel Acosta León´s suicide has meant an infinite mourning for the Cuban arts”. declare Samuel Feijóo, Cuba’s important artist and critic.
