Opened on November 19, 1905, in Chiado, A Brasileira was founded by Adriano Telles, a man from Alvarenga who had emigrated to Brazil in 1872, marrying the daughter of one of the largest coffee producers in Minas Gerais and where he would eventually dedicate himself to the coffee business.

Returning to Portugal in 1898 on medical advice regarding his wife’s health, Adriano Telles brought the business from Brazil, first opening A Brasileira in Porto, in 1903 and two years later in Lisbon. His appreciation for the arts led him to commission works from the modernist painters of the time, in 1923, that gave space and breath to modern Portuguese art. Almada Negreiros, António Soares, Jorge Barradas, Bernardo Marques, Stuart Carvalhais, José Pacheko and Eduardo Viana – now renowned – were the authors of a set of paintings that would be placed in the establishment in 1925, with A Brasileira ending up being considered the first museum of contemporary art in Lisbon. In 1971, A Brasileira received the second generation of paintings with new artists, the same that now occupies the walls of the Café. Throughout its history, A Brasileira has been recognized as a place for meetings of writers and artists, linking a deep relationship with the arts.

The 100th anniversary of the first generation of paintings exhibited at A Brasileira, which will be celebrated in 2025, was the motto for A Brasileira to reconnect with the arts through the launch of the “A Brasileira do Chiado Painting Prize”, which is aimed to promote new values in visual arts, particularly painting. The award will distinguish 10 works by national artists that will be on temporary exhibition at the Café in 2025, allowing the artistic community and the public to enjoy them, while the current works will be subject to restoration.

The selection of works and the final choice of the award-winning works is the responsibility of 7 jurors: Tiago Quaresma, Administrator of the O Valor do Tempo Group, of which A Brasileira is part; João Bernardo Galvão Teles, great-grandson of the founder of A Brasileira, jurist and consultant in History and Heritage; Emília Ferreira, Director of the National Museum of Contemporary Art (MNAC); Cláudio Garrudo, Director of the INCM Publishing and Culture Unit; Maria Aires Silveira, Curator at the National Museum of Contemporary Art (MNAC); José Quaresma, Associate Professor with FBAUL Aggregation and Paulo Almeida Fernandes, Art Historian and coordinator of the research area at the Lisbon Museum.

The announcement of the winners is scheduled for November 19, 2024, the date that marks the 119th anniversary of A Brasileira.

This award now launched honors and values the founder and History, supports the artistic community and resumes the close relationship between artists and a place in the imagination of all Lisbon residents.

Regulations and participation conditions at www.abrasileira.pt