George T. López (April 23, 1900 – December 23, 1993) was a renowned Santos

woodcarver Wood carving (or woodcarving) is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculpture, ...

who was awarded the

National Heritage Fellowship The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States government's h ...

by the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

in 1982. He was born in the small village of Cordova, New Mexico which is situated in a small valley of the

Sangre de Cristo Mountains The Sangre de Cristo Mountains (Spanish language, Spanish for "Blood of Christ") are the southernmost mountain range, subrange of the Rocky Mountains. They are located in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico in the United States. The mountai ...

. The village was founded in the sixteenth century by some the earliest

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

settlers to the region, and the town itself has an international reputation for its continuing tradition of religious wood carving. López's family was an important part of that tradition with George being the sixth-generation santero of the family. He is the son of the legendary carver and furniture maker Jose Delores Lopez, 1868–1937, who is credited with reviving the tradition of santo carving in Cordova. López started working at camps, farms and road crews at the age of fifteen to help support his family. After his father's death, he worked construction jobs in

Los Alamos, New Mexico Los Alamos (, meaning ''The Poplars'') is a census-designated place in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States, that is recognized as one of the development and creation places of the Nuclear weapon, atomic bomb—the primary objective of ...

. In 1952 he quit his construction job and made carving his full-time profession. López was profiled in a January 1991 ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

'' magazine article.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez, George 1900 births 1993 deaths American woodcarvers National Heritage Fellowship winners People from Los Alamos, New Mexico