Frank Diaz Escalet (American, 1930–2012) was a self-taught painter and master leathercrafter known for his innovative inlaid leather compositions. Born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, and raised in New York, he drew inspiration from jazz culture, immigrant communities, and working-class life. Using stained and cut leather on Masonite, Escalet developed a distinctive visual language that blended folk art sensibilities with modernist abstraction.