The son of coffee plantation farmers from the countryside of São Paulo, José Antônio da Silva worked in various rural jobs until he moved to the town of São José do Rio Preto, where he worked as a doorman in hotels and other establishments. The coffee cycle brought the expansion of population centers in the interior of the state, as well as the maximization of urban centers, railroads and industries, which merged with the rural world of cotton, livestock and sugar cane economies. In the 1940s, José Antonio da Silva’s paintings signaled changes in the social fabric of the region. His landscapes often include figures of liberal workers, settlers, ranchers and farmers – whether in scenes of rest, leisure or work.     

In 1946, Silva learned about a painting competition organized by a local culture organization in São José do Rio Preto. Lacking funds to buy canvases, he painted his first three works on flannel fabric. They were sent to the exhibition and caught the attention of the jury, composed of critics Lourival Gomes Machado, Paulo Mendes de Almeida and philosopher João Cruz Costa – all associated with São Paulo modernism. Although the jury had nominated Silva for first place in the competition, the organizing committee annulled the decision and relegated him to fourth place.   The critics’ recognition, however, would bear lasting fruit for Silva’s career. Just two years later, in 1948, he had his first solo show at Galeria Domus in São Paulo. The thirty-seven works presented at the show comprised landscapes of the São Paulo countryside: coffee plantations, oxen, field workers, as well as scenes of violence and scourge. On this show, Pietro Maria Bardi acquired ten of the artist’s works for the collection of the Assis Chateaubriand Museum of Art of São Paulo – MASP.   

Since the beginning of his career, Silva has taken part in several group exhibitions, such as the first three editions of the São Paulo Biennial (1951, 1953 and 1955) and subsequently also the 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th editions of the event (1961, 1963, 1965 and 1967). He also took part in the 28th and 33rd Venice Biennales (1955 and 966). His most recent group shows include Almeida & Dale, São Paulo (2022) and Sesc 24 de Maio, São Paulo (2022). He has had recent solo shows at: Musée de Grenoble, Grenoble, France (2025); Pinacoteca de São Paulo (2018); Almeida & Dale, São Paulo (2017) and MAC USP, São Paulo (2013). In the 1970s, he exhibited at MASP, São Paulo (1976) and MAM São Paulo (1970). His works are part of the collections of museums such as: MAM São Paulo; MASP, São Paulo; MAC USP, São Paulo; MNBA, Rio de Janeiro; Pinacoteca de São Paulo, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, USA and Musée d’Art Naïf Anatole Jacovsky, Nice, France.