BONITA (KGTV) — A San Diego man's quest to preserve his father's lost Navy artwork has reached a major milestone with the opening of a museum exhibit dedicated to the late artist's work.
Nestor Valor's father, Vitaliano Valor, served as a steward for the U.S. Navy in the 1940s, but his family never knew about his artistic talents until recently. Vitaliano painted portraits of famous admirals during his service, giving each piece away as a gift.
"If I don't showcase his work, his talent, then I think it'll be lost in history," Nestor said during an interview in October.
After months of searching and fundraising efforts, Nestor successfully opened an exhibit at the Bonita Museum and Cultural Center featuring his father's original paintings. The display includes portraits that once decorated Nestor's home and newly discovered pieces found by family members.
"Here in this wall is his original paintings that we brought from home," Nestor said while giving his brother a tour of the exhibit.
The family learned that Captain Holbrook encouraged Vitaliano to start painting during his Navy service. However, because each artwork was given as a gift, the family had no idea about the extent of his artistic legacy.
Following a news story about Nestor's search in October, both his GoFundMe campaign and calls for missing artwork received significant responses. Family members came forward with additional pieces they had kept in their homes.
"I jogged my cousin, my first cousin's memory and said, 'Hey, I think we have one in our living room or in our house,'" Nestor said.
The current exhibit represents only a fraction of Vitaliano's known work. Nestor believes hundreds more paintings could still be out there.
"There could be hundreds out there that we just don't know about and so I'm gonna keep looking and it might be a lifelong journey," he said.
Nestor believes his father would be proud of the effort to preserve his legacy.
"I think he would be happy, he would be pleased we're continuing his legacy," Nestor said.
When asked what he would tell his father if he could see the exhibit today, Nestor became emotional.
"Hopefully we did good," he said after a pause. "And we tried our best."
The exhibit will remain open until December 23. Nestor says he has plans to showcase his father's work on an even bigger stage in the future.
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