Antonio Joseph Mendez
American, 1940 - 2019
Person TypeArtist
BiographyBorn in Eureka, NV, Antonio Joseph Mendez took up sketching and watercolor as a boy. After moving to Colorado at age 12, he briefly studied art at the University of Colorado and worked as an illustrator and tool designer for Martin Marietta. In 1965, Mendez was recruited to work as an espionage artist for the Central Intelligence Agency, Technical Services Division, which initiated a 25-year career in intelligence across the globe. During his career, he worked as Chief of Disguise and Chief of the Graphics and Authentication Division. While on assignment, he often used art as his cover, and he set up studios wherever he traveled. Mendez is best known for his role in rescuing six US diplomats from Iran during the 1980 hostage crisis (the story that inspired the Academy-award-winning 2013 film Argo). After retiring from the CIA in 1990, Mendez earned prestigious awards for his distinguished intelligence career. Also upon his retirement, Mendez turned to painting full time. His wife and son, both artists as well, shared studios and a gallery with him in rural Western Maryland, where Mendez focuses on Impressionist regional landscapes. He exhibited across the United States and abroad until his death in 2019. In a 2013 interview with the Washington Post, Mendez stated, “I’ve always considered myself to be an artist first, and for 25 years I was a pretty good spy.”
