Enrique Alférez
Encyclopedia
Enrique Alferez was Mexican
-born Louisiana
artist
, best known as a sculptor in the art deco
style.
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.
Alferez painted an official portrait of Huey P. Long (who, Alfarez revealed decades later, he loathed).
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 in New Orleans and the Palmolive Building
in Chicago.
Alferez remained active in to 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".
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
-born Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, best known as a sculptor in the art deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
style.
Pancho Villa
José Doroteo Arango Arámbula – better known by his pseudonym Francisco Villa or its hypocorism Pancho Villa – was one of the most prominent Mexican Revolutionary generals....
in the Mexican Revolution
Mexican Revolution
The Mexican Revolution was a major armed struggle that started in 1910, with an uprising led by Francisco I. Madero against longtime autocrat Porfirio Díaz. The Revolution was characterized by several socialist, liberal, anarchist, populist, and agrarianist movements. Over time the Revolution...
before coming to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He studied with Lorado Taft
Lorado Taft
Lorado Zadoc Taft was an American sculptor, writer and educator. Taft was born in Elmwood, Illinois in 1860 and died in his home studio in Chicago in 1936.-Early years and education:...
in Chicago, Illinois in the 1920s, then from 1929 on lived in New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
. His sculptures and reliefs adorn many parks, buildings, and landmarks in New Orleans and south Louisiana. In a Works Progress Administration
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
program, he created many sculptures for City Park.
Alferez painted an official portrait of Huey P. Long (who, Alfarez revealed decades later, he loathed).
His fountain at New Orleans Lakefront Airport
New Orleans Lakefront Airport
Lakefront Airport is a public use airport located four nautical miles northeast of the central business district of New Orleans, in Orleans Parish, Louisiana, United States...
is a well known local landmark. He made reliefs for a number of buildings, including the Charity Hospital
Charity Hospital
Charity Hospital was one of two teaching hospitals which were part of the Medical Center of Louisiana at New Orleans . Three weeks after the events of Hurricane Katrina, then Governor Kathleen Blanco said that Charity Hospital would not reopen, even though the military had scrubbed the building to...
Building in New Orleans and the Palmolive Building
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 Colgate-Palmolive-Peet....
in Chicago.
Alferez remained active in to his later years, both as a working artist and an art teacher. In 1993, he appeared in a PBS American Experience
American Experience
American Experience is a television program airing on the Public Broadcasting Service Public television stations in the United States. The program airs documentaries, many of which have won awards, about important or interesting events and people in American history...
documentary entitled "The Hunt for Pancho Villa".