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 The Constitutional Army ( es, Ejército constitucionalista; also known as the Constitutionalist Army) was the army that fought against the Federal Army, and later, against the Villistas and Zapatistas during the Mexican Revolution. It was formed ...

during the Mexican Revolution. In 1920, he fled his home country and made his way to

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

, where he found work as a photographer's assistant. It was here he attended a lecture presented by art teacher

Lorado Taft Lorado Zadok Taft (April 29, 1860, in Elmwood, Illinois – October 30, 1936, in Chicago) was an American sculptor, writer and educator. His 1903 book, ''The History of American Sculpture,'' was the first survey of the subject and stood for deca ...

, 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 (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, which he did from 1927 through 1929.

Career

After completing his education in 1929, he moved to

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

, where he spent much of the rest of his life. He later married an American woman named Margaret, with whom he had a daughter. 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 The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

. Some of the most notable include those in

City Park An urban park or metropolitan park, also known as a municipal park (North America) or a public park, public open space, or municipal gardens ( UK), is a park in cities and other incorporated places that offer recreation and green space to resi ...

, as well as the "Molly Marine" statue, the first American sculpture to depict a woman in military uniform. His fountain at

New Orleans Lakefront Airport Lakefront Airport is a public airport five miles northeast of downtown New Orleans, in Orleans Parish, Louisiana, United States. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015 categorized it as a general aviation ''reliever ...

is a well known local landmark. He made reliefs for a number of buildings, including the

Charity Hospital Charity may refer to: Giving * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sharing * Ch ...

Building in New Orleans and the

Palmolive Building The Palmolive Building, formerly the Playboy Building, is a 37-story Art Deco building at 919 N. Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Built by Holabird & Root, it was completed in 1929 and was home to the Colgate-Palmolive-Peet Corporation. The Palmo ...

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 Huey Pierce Long Jr. (August 30, 1893September 10, 1935), nicknamed "the Kingfish", was an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and as a United States senator from 1932 until his assassination ...

(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 ''American Experience'' is a television program airing on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. The program airs documentaries, many of which have won awards, about important or interesting events and people in American his ...

documentary entitled "The Hunt for Pancho Villa".

External links

Enrique Alferez in ''The Hunt For Pancho Villa''

References

1901 births 1999 deaths Artists from New Orleans School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni Mexican sculptors Male sculptors Works Progress Administration workers 20th-century American sculptors 20th-century Mexican male artists Mexican-American culture American male sculptors Artists from Zacatecas Art Deco artists 20th-century American male artists {{US-sculptor-stub