Born on January 6, in the Castillian village of Tomelloso to a well-to-do family that makes its living from cultivating their land and vines. The Spanish Civil War breaks out triggered by the military upheaval of July 17, which led to a successful coup d’état. War ends on April 1, 1939, giving way to a military dictatorship under General Francisco Franco. Notwithstanding this, his childhood in the village is peaceful and happy.

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Still a child, he starts drawing by copying engravings depicting nineteenth-century paintings.

During the summer his uncle, the painter Antonio López Torres, initiated him in painting. He teaches little Antonio the importance of painting from life by placing the motif right in front of him; first to draw it and then to paint it in oil. In October, despite his young age, 13 years old, and thanks to the mediation of his uncle, Antonio López's parents agree to let him go to Madrid to prepare for his admission into the School of Fine Arts of San Fernando.

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To prepare for the entrance examination to the School of Fine Arts, he goes daily to the Museum of Artistic Reproductions, located in the Casón del Buen Retiro, to copy plaster casts after antique sculptures and, in the afternoons, to the School of Arts and Crafts. In June 1950, at age 14, when Antonio passes the entrance exam to join the School of San Fernando, he experiences one of the happiest moments of his life.

Completes his Fine Arts studies in San Fernando in 1955, winning several awards in the School competitions.  During these years he meets those who will become his closest friends and his future wife: Enrique Gran, Lucio Muñoz, Francisco and Julio López, Joaquín Ramo, Francisco Nieva, Amalia Avia, Isabel Quintanilla and María Moreno. Before terminating his studies in January, he takes part in one of his first group exhibitions organized by the General Directorate of Fine Arts along with three of his friends, Lucio Muñoz and Francisco and Julio López. In May, he gets a travel grant by winning a contest of the National Education Delegation, which he uses in the summer of that same year to go touring Italy for a month with his friend and colleague, the sculptor Francisco López.

From his formative stage, he began to search for his language and tried various resources, being those of a surreal nature that would appear in many of the paintings of his first production. The landscapes of this period are usually inhabited by figures or by Still Lifes. Although he already paints cheerful vegetable themes, figures are the protagonists of much of the works he produces during these years.

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Given the difficulty of settling in the capital, he lives between Madrid and Tomelloso. Antonio López García and his time, his first solo exhibition,  is held at the Ateneo de Madrid in December 1957.

Wins the Still Life section of the annual Fine Arts competition of the Rodríguez Acosta Foundation in Granada with the work "In the kitchen", thus getting a travel grant that he uses to visit Greece accompanied again by Francisco López. Together they will also visit Rome thanks to another scholarship obtained by Antonio from the Ministry of Education.  

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Lives between Madrid and Tomelloso until 1960, thus becoming both places the background of his paintings. From that year on, Madrid turns into the main character of several of his paintings and will no longer disappear from his themes. At that time, he is beginning to develop his sculptural activity that will occupy a large part of his production in the coming years.

He exhibits individually at the Biosca Gallery in Madrid, then run by Juana Mordó, who would later become his art dealer. This show receives rave reviews and sells several of his artworks to Spanish collectors. 

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Marries the painter María Moreno.

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Joins the roster of artists at the new Juana Mordó Gallery, which is opened on March 13th with a group exhibition featuring works by them all. From that moment on, and thanks to the international connections of the gallery, he participates in numerous foreign group exhibitions, particularly in the United States and Germany.  In the latter, there is a growing interest in the so-called Spanish Realism, which results in the organization of various group shows until the eighties. Many of these exhibitions include the work of Antonio López, Francisco López, Isabel Quintanilla, and María Moreno.

In 1964, he begins teaching at the School of Fine Arts of San Fernando in Madrid, continuing several courses until 1969.

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His first solo show in North America takes place at the Staempfli Gallery in New York, being organized with the help of his Spanish gallery, Juana Mordó. This exhibition, very well received by the public and critics, leads to the sale of some of his works to various American collections. 

Gradually begins to purge his works of surrealist elements to gain a more objective approach, closer to reality.  Interiors bare of figures appear in both his paintings and drawings,  choosing very often workrooms and bathrooms to feature his drawings. On the other hand, the figures represented in his artworks often belong to his intimate circle, which is a permanent characteristic of his work.

Exhibits for the second time in the gallery of George Staempfli, coinciding with the booming of Realism and Hyper-realism styles in the United States and reaping rave reviews again.

Begins one of his most important sculptures: Hombre y mujer (Reina Sofía Museum).

Antonio begins to be represented by Marlborough Gallery, New York, USA.

Exhibits individually both in Galatea Gallery in Turin, Italy, and Claude Bernard Gallery in Paris, France.

Is awarded the Prize of the City of Darmstadt, Germany.

Continues to represent interiors to which he adds windows seen from inside and even some figures, like in the drawing depicting his uncle at his house, Casa de Antonio López Torres (1972-1975). This way, he broadens the subject matter of realism, to which he also contributes a new vision of some motifs like the places in the house, incorporating the toilet and the kitchen, but devoid of characters. His interest in the human habit of eating leads Antonio to render it in both drawings and oil paintings, thus producing one of his most representative works on the subject, the painting La Cena (1971-1980).

During these years, his work is also exhibited in major international group shows as Contemporary Spanish Realists at the Marlborough Gallery, London (1973) and Realismus und Realität at the Kunsthalle Darmstadt, Germany (1975).

Throughout this period, he works on some of his most important pieces, especially in some of his most famous sights of Madrid as Gran Vía (1974-1981) or Madrid desde Torres Blancas (1974-1982), as well as in the sculptures Hombre y Mujer (1968-1994). Keeps working on the theme of the window seen from inside, starting several paintings depicting this subject at different times of the day..

Is awarded the Gold Medal of Merit in Fine Arts and the Pablo Iglesias Prize.

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The Juan March Foundation organizes his first retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Albacete, arousing great interest among the public and the critics.

Is honoured with the "Prince of Asturias" Award for the Arts.

Becomes one of the three artists selected to represent Contemporary Spanish Art and exhibit individually in Europalia 85, Brussels, being the other two Antoni Tàpies and Eduardo Chillida. His work receives a lot of press attention.

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Is one of the three artists selected to represent Contemporary Spanish Art and exhibit individually in Europalia 85, Brussels. The other two artists are Antoni Tàpies and Eduardo Chillida. His work gets a lot of press attention. 

Exhibits again individually in New York, but this time in the gallery that represents him then, Marlborough Gallery, where he will exhibit on few occasions.  A few months later, this show travels to the gallery's London headquarters.

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He shoots El sol del membrillo in his own house under the direction of Víctor Erice, a film that portrays his creative process and in which some members of his family and friends appear. This film, released in 1992, garners good reviews and awards, among which stands out the Jury Prize of the Cannes Film Festival (1992).

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Antonio takes part in a group exhibition, Otra Realidad. Compañeros en Madrid, curated by Javier Tusell and María José Salazar.  This show, organized by Fundación Humanismo y Democracia with the collaboration of Caja Madrid,  displays his works are along with those of his colleagues and friends, who practiced both figurative and abstract trends.  It marks a turning point in the understanding of the figurative painting done in Madrid from the fifties onward.

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Receives the Award Tomás Francisco Prieto from Madrid Mint, for which he is commissioned a series of coins in gold, silver, and bronze. Chooses a man and a hare as motifs for each of the sides of the coins.

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In May 1993, a major retrospective exhibition of his work opens at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid, featuring 170 artworks, including paintings, sculptures, and drawings. With this show, Antonio achieves definitive recognition from the public and critics.He is named Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando de Madrid.

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Fundación Focus in Seville organises an exhibition that explores his creative process:  Antonio López, proceso de un trabajo.