Fernando Botero: 1932—: Artist

To help alleviate some of Colombia's collective dispirit, Botero donated some $120 million worth of paintings and sculpture to revive the country's visual-arts foundations. They included his own paintings as well as priceless works he had personally acquired by Picasso, Auguste Renoir, and Salvador Dali. The paintings were housed in a Bogotá museum and in a newly renovated showcase in Medellín, the Museum of Antioquia. The former city hall dominates a neighborhood that was once rife with crime and prostitution, but was rejuvenated with the help of government renovation and Botero's largesse. "What I am doing here is a justification for my life," he told the Los Angeles Times. "I have the sensation of doing something good for people, more than being a trendy artist or a successful artist …. Thousands of people are going to enjoy this. That's a tremendous pleasure."

Botero maintained homes in Tuscany, Colombia, Monte Carlo, New York City, and other places. Since 1976 the artist has been romantically linked with Greek-born sculptor Sophia Vari. He worked seven days a week, eight hours a day. "The truth is," he told Darling in the Los Angeles Times, "I haven't found anything more fun than work."