Pilar Calvo Rodero

Pilar Calvo Rodero (Madrid, 1910–1974) was a Spanish sculptor, costume designer, and set designer.

Early life and education Her mother was Anunciación Rodero Domínguez, and her father was Gaspar Castor Calvo Rodero, deputy director of the Tabacalera in Madrid. The couple had six daughters and one son: Josefa, Carmen, Matilde, Rosalía, Isabel, Pilar, and Rafael. Her sister Matilde was an engraver and bookbinder who worked at the Museo Nacional de Artes Decorativas.

Calvo studied at the French Girls' Lycée and the IES San Isidro. She began her studies as a draftsman and surveyor but did not complete them. She worked as a teacher at the , where she taught drawing and manual arts. At the same time, she contributed articles to fashion and decoration columns. In 1924, she participated in the National Fine Arts Exhibition with a photoengraved casket in the Decorative Arts section.

Career In 1932, she married the critic, writer, and theater director Alfredo Marqueríe.

During the civil war, they moved to Tangier with their daughter, where Calvo began modeling. Upon returning to Madrid, she took classes from the sculptor . Once the war was over, Calvo exhibited for several years at the Salon d'Automne, organized by the (Spanish Association of Painters and Sculptors): 1945, Cabeza de muchacho (in wood) and Cabeza en escayola (in plaster) 1950, Niños (in plaster) 1952, two works in plaster, Mujer sentada and Desnudo That same year, she was awarded a third place medal at the National Fine Arts Exhibition for her work Desnudo de mujer. In 1957, Calvo received the runner-up prize in the National Sculpture Award for her work Retrato de Azorín. In 1964, she participated in XXV Years of Spanish Art at the Palacio de Velázquez's Retiro Exhibition Hall in Madrid.

She also worked in fashion design, costume design, and set design, and contributed to various publications. She began her activity as a contributor in the Madrid newspape España in 1938 and 1939 in a section entitled "La mujer y el hogar" (Women and the Home), where, in addition to writing fashion columns, she gave decorating tips, recipes, and more. The illustrations were her own. She created sets and designed costumes for numerous plays, as well as serving as the executive secretary of the Teatro Popular Español.

Her work was included in the exhibition Reexistencias, escultoras del siglo XX (Re-existences, 20th-century sculptors), held in Madrid and Seville in 2006.