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{{short description|Mexican-American artist}}
{{Unreferenced stub|date=December 2009}}
{{More citations needed|date=September 2014}}{{Infobox person
'''Enrique Alferez''' (1901 – 1999) was [[Mexico|Mexican]]-born [[Louisiana]] [[artist]], best known as a [[sculptor]] in the [[art deco]] style.
⚫
| name = Enrique Alférez
| post-nominals =
| birth_date = May 4, 1901
| birth_place = San Miguel del Mezquital (now [[Miguel Auza Municipality|Miguel Auza]]), [[Mexico]]
| death_date = September 14, 1999 (aged 98)
| death_place = [[New Orleans]], [[Orleans Parish]], [[Louisiana]], [[United States]]
| alma_mater = [[School of the Art Institute of Chicago]]
| notable_works = Molly Marine
Fountain of the Four Winds
Symbols of Communication
Louisiana at Work and Play
| style = [[Art Deco]]
| children = Tlaloc S. Alférez
| website = http://enriquealferez.com/
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}}
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[[Image:AlfarezOwlgal1.jpg|thumb|right|150px|"Fountain of the Four Winds", detail, New Orleans Lakefront Airport, 1937]]
[[File:CharityHospitalMainEntranceGrill.jpg|thumb|right|Aluminum grill in the transom of the main entrance of [[Charity Hospital (New Orleans)|Charity hospital]] ]]


'''Enrique Alférez''' (1901–1999) was a [[Mexicans|Mexican]] artist who specialized in sculpting architectural reliefs and the human form.
⚫
[[Image:AlfarezOwlgal1.jpg|thumb|right|150px|"Fountain of the Winds", detail, New Orleans Lakefront Airport, 1930s]]
The son of a sculptor, young Enrique spent some time in the army of [[Pancho Villa]] in the [[Mexican Revolution]] before coming to the [[United States]]. He studied with [[Lorado Taft]] in [[Chicago, Illinois]] in the 1920s, then from 1929 on lived in [[New Orleans, Louisiana]]. His sculptures and reliefs adorn many parks, buildings, and landmarks in New Orleans and south Louisiana. In a [[Works Progress Administration]] program, he created many sculptures for [[City Park (New Orleans)|City Park]]. He created the statue "Molly Marine" which is the very first statue in the United States of a woman in military uniform.<ref>http://semperfiparents.com/2012/03/23/women-marines-the-origins-of-molly-marine//</ref><ref>http://womenmarines.wordpress.com/tag/molly-marine/} http://womenmarines.wordpress.com/tag/molly-marine/</ref>


== Early life and education ==
Alferez painted an official portrait of [[Huey P. Long]] (who, Alfarez revealed decades later, he loathed).
Born in a rural village in northern Mexico, Alférez was introduced to sculpture by his father, a woodworker who was trained . He ran away at age 12, and was conscripted into the [[Constitutional Army]] during the [[Mexican Revolution]]. In 1920, he fled his home country and made his way to [[El Paso, Texas]], where he found work as a photographer's assistant. It was here he attended a lecture presented by art teacher [[Lorado Taft]], who was visiting El Paso on an [[Art Institute of Chicago]] tour. Seeing potential in the young man, Taft encouraged Alferez to come study under him in [[Chicago]], which he did from 1927 through 1929.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/museums/ct-ae-arte-diseno-xicago-mexican-museum-0415-story.html |title=Story of Mexican art in Chicago is the story of Chicago art |last=Johnson |first=Steve |work=chicagotribune.com |access-date=2018-04-15 |language=en-US}}</ref>


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== Career ==
His fountain at [[New Orleans Lakefront Airport]] is a well known local landmark. He made reliefs for a number of buildings, including the [[Charity Hospital (New Orleans)|Charity Hospital]] Building in New Orleans and the [[Palmolive Building]] in Chicago.
After completing his education in 1929, he moved to [[New Orleans, Louisiana]], where he spent much of the rest of his life. He later married an American woman named Margaret, with whom he had a daughter.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.myneworleans.com/New-Orleans-Magazine/July-2012/Dr-Tlaloc-Alferez-Top-Female-Achiever/|title=Dr. Tlaloc Alferez-Top Female Achiever|access-date=2018-11-06|language=en}}</ref>


His sculptures and reliefs adorn many parks, buildings, and landmarks in the New Orleans Metropolitan Area, many of them commissioned by the [[Works Progress Administration]]. Some of the most notable include those in [[City Park (New Orleans)|City Park]], as well as the "Molly Marine" statue, the first American sculpture to depict a woman in military uniform.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://semperfiparents.com/2012/03/23/women-marines-the-origins-of-molly-marine// |title=Women Marines: The Origin of Molly Marine &#124; Semper Fi Parents |access-date=2013-07-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529093447/http://semperfiparents.com/2012/03/23/women-marines-the-origins-of-molly-marine/ |archive-date=2013-05-29 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://womenmarines.wordpress.com/tag/molly-marine/|title=Molly Marine|website=Women Marines Association|date=2 September 2019 }}</ref> His fountain at [[New Orleans Lakefront Airport]] is a well known local landmark. He made reliefs for a number of buildings, including the [[Charity Hospital (New Orleans)|Charity Hospital]] Building<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://wgno.com/2015/10/28/nude-women-sculptures-now-in-city-parks-beautiful-new-sculpture-garden/|title=Nude women sculptures now in City Park's beautiful new sculpture garden|date=2015-10-28|work=WGNO|access-date=2018-11-06|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="CharityHistory">{{cite web |last1=Leighninger |first1=Robert |title=Big Charity: The History of Charity Hospital |url=https://64parishes.org/the-history-of-charity-hospital |website=64parishes.org |date=14 August 2015 |publisher=Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities |access-date=30 November 2020}}</ref> in New Orleans and the [[Palmolive Building]] in Chicago.
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Alferez remained active into his later years, both as a working artist and an art teacher. In 1993, he appeared in a PBS [[American Experience]] documentary entitled "The Hunt for Pancho Villa".


Alférez was not only a sculptor, and actively produced work in other artistic disciplines. Notably, he painted an official portrait of Senator [[Huey P. Long]] (who he personally loathed, as he revealed decades later).
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== See also ==
Enrique Alférez in this [http://vimeo.com/21719826 bio-documentary]


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Alférez remained active into his later years, both as a working artist and an art teacher. In 1993, he appeared in a PBS [[American Experience]] documentary entitled "The Hunt for Pancho Villa".
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==References==

<references/>
In the years after Alférez's passing, author Katie Bowler Young began researching his work and went on to publish an extensive biography on his life titled [https://www.hnoc.org/publications/books/enrique-alf%C3%A9rez "Enrique Alférez: Sculptor"] in 2020 through the Historic New Orleans Collection.

Alférez’s influence and work is present throughout New Orleans. The Helis Foundation Enrique Alférez Sculpture Garden is named in his honor and located inside the New Orleans Botanical Garden. The garden is 8,000 sq. ft. and features over 20 of Alférez’s sculptures, most of which are owned by The Helis Foundation. <ref>{{cite web |title=The Helis Foundation Enrique Alférez Sculpture Garden |url=https://www.thehelisfoundation.org/projects/enrique-alferez-sculpture-garden |website=The Helis Foundation |publisher=The Helis Foundation |access-date=6 June 2024}}</ref>

== External links ==
* [http://vimeo.com/21719826 Enrique Alferez in ''The Hunt For Pancho Villa'']
{{Commons category|Enrique Alférez}}

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==References==
{{Reflist}}

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{{Authority control}}


== See also ==
{{Commonscat|Enrique Alferez}}
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{{Authority control|VIAF=21780468}}
{{Persondata
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| NAME =Alferez, Enrique
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
| SHORT DESCRIPTION = Artist
| DATE OF BIRTH = 1901
| PLACE OF BIRTH =
| DATE OF DEATH = 1999
| PLACE OF DEATH =
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}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alferez, Enrique}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alferez, Enrique}}
[[Category:1901 births]]
[[Category:1901 births]]
[[Category:1999 deaths]]
[[Category:1999 deaths]]
[[Category:Artists from New Orleans, Louisiana]]
[[Category:Artists from New Orleans]]
[[Category:School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni]]
[[Category:School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni]]
[[Category:Mexican sculptors]]
[[Category:Mexican sculptors]]
[[Category:American sculptors]]
[[Category:Male sculptors]]
[[Category:Works Progress Administration workers]]
[[Category:Works Progress Administration workers]]
[[Category:20th-century American sculptors]]
[[Category:20th-century Mexican male artists]]
[[Category:Mexican-American culture]]
[[Category:American male sculptors]]
[[Category:Artists from Zacatecas]]
[[Category:Art Deco artists]]
[[Category:20th-century American male artists]]
[[Category:20th-century Mexican sculptors]]




Revision as of 21:50, 26 June 2024

Enrique Alférez
BornMay 4, 1901
San Miguel del Mezquital (now Miguel Auza), Mexico
DiedSeptember 14, 1999 (aged 98)
New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, United States
Alma materSchool of the Art Institute of Chicago
Notable workMolly Marine

Fountain of the Four Winds Symbols of Communication

Louisiana at Work and Play
StyleArt Deco
ChildrenTlaloc S. Alférez
Websitehttp://enriquealferez.com/
"Fountain of the Four Winds", detail, New Orleans Lakefront Airport, 1937
Aluminum grill in the transom of the main entrance of Charity hospital

Enrique Alférez (1901–1999) was a Mexican artist who specialized in sculpting architectural reliefs and the human form.

Early life and education

Born in a rural village in northern Mexico, Alférez was introduced to sculpture by his father, a woodworker who was trained . He ran away at age 12, and was conscripted into the Constitutional Army during the Mexican Revolution. In 1920, he fled his home country and made his way to El Paso, Texas, where he found work as a photographer's assistant. It was here he attended a lecture presented by art teacher Lorado Taft, who was visiting El Paso on an Art Institute of Chicago tour. Seeing potential in the young man, Taft encouraged Alferez to come study under him in Chicago, which he did from 1927 through 1929.[1]

Career

After completing his education in 1929, he moved to New Orleans, Louisiana, where he spent much of the rest of his life. He later married an American woman named Margaret, with whom he had a daughter.[2]

His sculptures and reliefs adorn many parks, buildings, and landmarks in the New Orleans Metropolitan Area, many of them commissioned by the Works Progress Administration. Some of the most notable include those in City Park, as well as the "Molly Marine" statue, the first American sculpture to depict a woman in military uniform.[3][4] His fountain at New Orleans Lakefront Airport is a well known local landmark. He made reliefs for a number of buildings, including the Charity Hospital Building[5][6] in New Orleans and the Palmolive Building in Chicago.

Alférez was not only a sculptor, and actively produced work in other artistic disciplines. Notably, he painted an official portrait of Senator Huey P. Long (who he personally loathed, as he revealed decades later).

Alférez remained active into his later years, both as a working artist and an art teacher. In 1993, he appeared in a PBS American Experience documentary entitled "The Hunt for Pancho Villa".

In the years after Alférez's passing, author Katie Bowler Young began researching his work and went on to publish an extensive biography on his life titled "Enrique Alférez: Sculptor" in 2020 through the Historic New Orleans Collection.

Alférez’s influence and work is present throughout New Orleans. The Helis Foundation Enrique Alférez Sculpture Garden is named in his honor and located inside the New Orleans Botanical Garden. The garden is 8,000 sq. ft. and features over 20 of Alférez’s sculptures, most of which are owned by The Helis Foundation. [7]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Enrique Alférez.

References

  1. ^ Johnson, Steve. "Story of Mexican art in Chicago is the story of Chicago art". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2018-04-15.
  2. ^ "Dr. Tlaloc Alferez-Top Female Achiever". Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  3. ^ "Women Marines: The Origin of Molly Marine | Semper Fi Parents". Archived from the original on 2013-05-29. Retrieved 2013-07-14.
  4. ^ "Molly Marine". Women Marines Association. 2 September 2019.
  5. ^ "Nude women sculptures now in City Park's beautiful new sculpture garden". WGNO. 2015-10-28. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
  6. ^ Leighninger, Robert (14 August 2015). "Big Charity: The History of Charity Hospital". 64parishes.org. Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  7. ^ "The Helis Foundation Enrique Alférez Sculpture Garden". The Helis Foundation. The Helis Foundation. Retrieved 6 June 2024.


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