Colita

Isabel Steva “Colita” was born in Barcelona, in the heart of the Eixample district, on August 24, 1940, at siesta time. She studied at the Sacred Heart School until the age of 17. After graduating from the Pre-University of Letters, she moved to Paris for a year to study French civilization at the Sorbonne University.

Upon her return to Barcelona, she met the photographers Oriol Maspons, Julio Ubiña, Francesc Català Roca, and Xavier Miserachs, from whom she learned the “trade” and became a professional photographer. However, she has always considered Paco Rebés her “discoverer” and mentor.

Colita is renowned for her portraiture and is considered one of the photographers of the so-called Gauche Divine. Over her 40 years of professional activity, she has held more than 40 exhibitions and published over 30 books of photographs. Her works are part of permanent collections of prestigious institutions, a testament to her dedication and talent.

She was also awarded Doctor Honoris Causa by the Autonomous University of Barcelona in 2012, the National Prize for Photography in 2014, which she declined due to the cultural and educational situation in Spain at the time, and the Bartolomé Ros Prize for the best Spanish career in photography in 2015. The jury, made up of Rosa Ros, in charge of the Bartolomé Ros legacy; Gervasio Sánchez, photographer; Rafael Doctor Roncero, curator; João Fernandes, deputy director of the Reina Sofía Museum; and Alberto Anaut, president of PhotoEspaña, wanted to recognize with this award “the coherence of her career, her professional independence and the totality of her work, witness to an era lived from within”.

In January 2017, she exhibited Colita Flamenco  at the Palacio de Carlos V de La Alhambra in Granada, a selection of her best photographs of flamenco, of which a magnificent catalogue was published for the occasion. Another milestone in her professional career: in November 2018, coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the Spanish Constitution, organized the Senate and Congress (Madrid) the great exhibition The Power of Art, where Colita exhibited 40 photographs belonging to the collection of the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (MNCARS) and has the honour of being selected one of her images of the Spanish transition as a poster and graphic image of the same. In 2023, she received several awards in recognition of her long career: the Christa Leem Award and the Ofici de Barcelona Award.