Born in San Juan, PR, in 1913, engraver, painter, and printmaker Lorenzo Homar studied at Pratt Institute, Brooklyn Museum's School of Art, and Art Students League, all in NY. He worked as a jewelry designer for House of Cartier, and was a founding member of Centro de Arte Puertorriqueño. From 1952-57, he was director of graphic workshops of División de Educación a la Comunidad, San Juan, PR, and Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña from 1957-73, which developed into a resource for discovering young talent. 

Homar, born to Spanish parents, was born in Puerta de Tierra, in San Juan. His father was a social events promoter, and his mother an accomplished piano player, thus from a very early age he began to appreciate art in many forms. In 1928 he moved to New York city with his family. He enrolled in school, but  dropped out due to economic reasons.

During World War II he enrolled in the army, where he was wounded. He then returned to work for Cartier and attended the Brooklyn School of Art. Upon his return to Puerto Rico in 1950, he co-founded, together with the artists Rafael Tufiño, José Antonio Torres Martinó, and Félix Rodríguez Báez, the Centro de Arte Puertorriqueño. Two years later he was named Director of the Graphics Studio of the Graphic Art Division of the Department of Community Education where he produced most of his graphic output.

Homar designed the logo of the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña and in 1957 he established the Graphic Art Workshop where he remained for the next 15 years, leaving in 1975 to establish his own painting studio. Among the many honors Lorenzo Homar has received: in 1978 the Ponce Art Museum organized a retrospective exhibition, the Metropolitan Museum of Art purchased a number of his works and the University of Puerto Rico granted him a Doctorate "Honoris Causa". the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture awarded Lorenzo Homar The National Medal of Honor in 2003. On 16 February 2004 Homar died "conscious and talking", surrounded by family.