Luis Álvarez Roure (born 1976) is a Puerto Rican realist painter based in

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

. He is known for his figure paintings as well as his portraits of American public figures such as

Philip Glass Philip Glass (born January 31, 1937) is an American composer and pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century. Glass's work has been associated with minimal music, minimalism, being built up fr ...

Joshua Bell Joshua David Bell (born December 9, 1967) is an American violinist and conductor. He plays the Gibson Stradivarius. Early life and education Bell was born in Bloomington, Indiana, to Shirley Bell, a therapist, and Alan P. Bell, a psychologis ...

Paul Volcker Paul Adolph Volcker Jr. (September 5, 1927 – December 8, 2019) was an American economist who served as the 12th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1979 to 1987. During his tenure as chairman, Volcker was widely credited with having ended the ...

Cándido Camero Cándido Camero Guerra (22 April 19217 November 2020), known simply as Cándido, was a Cuban conga and bongo player. He is considered a pioneer of Afro-Cuban jazz and an innovator in conga drumming. He was responsible for the development of tun ...

, Monsignor

William Linder William J. Linder was an American community development leader, and founder of New Community Corporation. He was a 1991 MacArthur Fellow. He died on June 8, 2018. Life Linder was born in West New York, NJ and attended Saint Peter's Prep in Jersey ...

, and Octavio Vázquez. His strengths have been described as "his draftsmanship (...) taken directly from the paintings of past masters" and "the empathy he so evidently feels with his sitters" by

Peter Trippi Peter Trippi is editor-in-chief of '' Fine Art Connoisseur'', a bimonthly magazine for collectors of representational painting, sculpture, drawings and prints—both historical and contemporary. From 2003 until 2006, Trippi was director of New Yor ...

, editor-in-chief of Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine.

Life

Luis Alvarez Roure was born in

Arecibo Arecibo (; ) is a city and municipality on the northern coast of Puerto Rico, on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, located north of Utuado and Ciales; east of Hatillo; and west of Barceloneta and Florida. It is about west of San Juan, the ...

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

. As a child, he taught himself to draw. He declined taking formal art lessons. He also developed a great interest in music and his father enrolled him in piano lessons. Eventually, he moved to New York City to study piano performance under Germán Diez at

City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven Upper divis ...

, where he completed a Master of Arts in Music. He then enrolled at the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may stu ...

where he studied with

Nelson Shanks John Nelson Shanks (December 23, 1937 – August 28, 2015) was an American artist and painter. His best known works include his portrait of Diana, Princess of Wales, first shown at Hirschl & Adler Gallery in New York City, April 24 to June 2 ...

. According to Roure, seeing his teacher paint was a turning point. Roure is a resident of Hasbrouck Heights, N.J.

Career

Alvarez Roure's work has been collected by the

Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery The National Portrait Gallery is a historic art museum between 7th, 9th, F, and G Streets NW in Washington, D.C., in the United States. Founded in 1962 and opened to the public in 1968, it is part of the Smithsonian Institution. Its collections f ...

in Washington D.C., European Museum of Modern Art in Barcelona,

Steinway Hall Steinway Hall (German: ) is the name of buildings housing concert halls, showrooms and sales departments for Steinway & Sons pianos. The first Steinway Hall was opened in 1866 in New York City. Today, Steinway Halls and are located in cities such ...

in New York City, and the

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in Washington D.C. In 2019 he was a finalist of the

Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition The National Portrait Gallery is a historic art museum between 7th, 9th, F, and G Streets NW in Washington, D.C., in the United States. Founded in 1962 and opened to the public in 1968, it is part of the Smithsonian Institution. Its collections f ...

, where his painting Hidden Wounds was one of 46 works exhibited at The Outwin: American Portraiture Today at the

Works

File:Philip Glass.jpg,

. 2016. Oil on board. Collection of the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. File:"Memento" Portrait of composer Octavio Vazquez.jpg, "Memento" Portrait of composer

Octavio Vazquez Octavio is a Spanish language masculine given name. In the Portuguese language the given name Octavio or Octávio is also found, but in Portuguese the normal spelling is Otávio. It is also used as a surname in the Philippines. Individuals * Octa ...

. Oil on linen. 36 x 24 inches. File:Portrait of Joshua Bell.jpg, Portrait of violinist

. Oil on linen. File:Cándido Camero by Luis Alvarez Roure.jpg, Portrait of

References

Sources

*Trippi, Peter (2018). "Luis Alvarez Roure: Composing in Paint". ''Fine Art Connoisseur''. November/December issue 2018, p. 80-83.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez Roure, Luis 1976 births Living people Puerto Rican painters Puerto Rican artists 20th-century American painters American male painters 21st-century American painters Art Students League of New York alumni People from Arecibo, Puerto Rico People from Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey 20th-century American male artists