Artist Enrique Alférez was born in Zacatecas, Mexico and lived nearly the entire 20th century. After service in the Mexican Revolution as a youth, he emigrated to Texas, studied in Chicago, and in 1929 first made his way to Louisiana. For almost 70 years, he worked in New Orleans. His lasting imprint is seen among Art Deco figurative sculptures, monuments, fountains, and architectural details in prominent locations from the Central Business District to the shore of Lake Pontchartrain and beyond.
Alférez's sculpture was most frequently based on the human form, primarily the female figure. He was a modernist who leaned on realism and drew extensively from classical sculpture, with careful attention to the revelation of character through physical features. He strove to better define the human figure and to capture emotion, individuality, and relationships between his subjects. Alférez also infused some of his figurative sculptures, bas-reliefs, and wood carvings with metaphor, allegory, and myth.
- Katie Bowler Young, author of Enrique Alférez: Sculptor
Alférez's work can be found found in numerous private collections and in metro New Orleans at the New Orleans Museum of Art, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, the New Orleans Botanical Garden, and the New Orleans Lakefront Airport, among others.
