The watercolors of Raquel Roque Gameiro

Raquel Roque Gameiro (1889–1970) was a prominent Portuguese watercolourist, naturalist, and the eldest daughter and pupil of the celebrated painter Alfredo Roque Gameiro. A painter and illustrator born in Lisbon, she was also the sister of the illustrator Maria Emília Roque Gameiro, and was repeatedly awarded prizes at the Sociedade Nacional de Belas-Artes, where she first exhibited her work. She illustrated numerous publications, including children's books, and collaborated with magazines and newspapers from the 1920s onward, such as Domingo Ilustrado, ABC-zinho, and O Mosquito. Like her father, she designed postage stamps for the Portuguese Post Office, including a series on Portuguese traditional costumes, and went on to become one of the most significant Portuguese female illustrators and watercolour artists of her era. In 2017, the art historian and University of Évora professor Sandra Leandro authored Mão Inteligente: Raquel Roque Gameiro (1889–1970) – Ilustração e Aguarela, a 50-page monograph published by the Mayor through the Casa Roque Gameiro. The work accompanied a retrospective exhibition of Raquel's Neo-Realism art curated by Leandro at the Casa Roque Gameiro in Amadora. The Casa Roque Gameiro itself is one of the oldest and most picturesque houses in the municipality of Amadora, originally designed by Alfredo Roque Gameiro and today serving as a cultural centre that hosts local exhibitions.