René Portocarrero was born in Cuba, in 1912.

He was a professor at the Paintings and Sculptures Free Studies directed by Abela in 1939. Travels through Haiti, Europe and the U.S, where he opened an exhibition in the Julian Levy Gallery (New York) in 1945. In 1950 he worked with Wifredo Lam, Martinez Pedro and Amelia Palaez in the village of Santiago de Las Vegas. In his lifetime he won “Best Collection” at the seventh São Paulo Art Biennial (1963), was honoured by the governments of Bulgaria and Poland, and given a seat on UNESCO's International Association of Fine Art.

His works are among the permanent collections of the Museums of Modern Arts of: Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, New York, San Francisco; National Gallery in Canada; Bellas Artes, Caracas; Milwaukee Art Center; Union Panamericana, Washington; Modern Arts of Paris; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Art Museum, Indianapolis; Bellas Artes, Montevideo; Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires; Instituto de Arte Contemporaneo, Lima, Peru; Museo Nacional, Havana.

He died in 1986.