Austrian-born Brazilian sculptor, printmaker and cactus collector. Francisco (Xico) Stockinger moved to Brazil with his family as an infant. Growing up in São Paulo, his first dream was to be a pilot, but after studying drawing he embarked on a career in art, graduating from the Licieu de Artes e Oficios in Rio de Janeiro. His early work in the late 1940s and 1950s consisted of caricatures and political sketches for newspapers, while he went on to become a master of woodcuts and an internationally known sculptor. Living in Porto Alegre, he enjoyed years of successful exhibiting and in 1967 was appointed director of the Rio Grande do Sul Museum of Art and leader of the arts division of the State Department of Culture. Stockinger's interest in cacti developed after he underwent surgery in 1974 and contracted hepatitis. Resting at home he soon became an expert on growing the plants, filling his greenhouse with rare specimens. It was not long before he got back to sculpting, however, and was commissioned to produce several important public artworks during his lifetime including the monument to Brazilian literary figures Carlos Drummond de Andrade and Mário Quintana in Praça da Alfândega, Porto Alegre. He was best known for his works in iron and wood depicting warriors, with a message of defiance towards military dictatorships.

Sources:
Anon., 2009, "Morre o escultor Xico Stockinger em Porto Alegre", Folha de S. Paulo, 13 April 2009
Anon., 2009, "Morre aos 89 anos o escultor Xico Stockinger", Zero Hora, 12 April 2009
E.B. Ioschpe, Francisco Stockingar:
http://www.franciscostockinger.noradar.com, accessed 9 September 2009.