Active in Oaxaca, and well-known not only for his work, but for his cultural patronage. His paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures, tapestries, pottery, and photographs drew on his indigenous Zapotec heritage as well as American Expressionism. He began studying art in Oaxaca at the age of twelve before moving to Mexico City at seventeen to study printmaking at the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes. In 1960 Toledo moved to Paris, where he formed mentorships with Rufino Tamayo and the poet Octavio Paz. After traveling in Europe he returned to Mexico where he eventually founded the Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca in 1988, and the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Oaxaca (MACO) in 1992, and several libraries. He was an activist in Oaxaca, protecting green spaces and preventing the construction of a McDonald’s in the Oaxaca Zócalo.