Mabel Alvarez
Encyclopedia
Mabel Alvarez was an American
painter
. Her works, often introspective and spiritual in nature, and her style is considered a contributing factor to the Southern California Modernism
and California Impressionism
movement..
, a physician, was involved with the leprosy research begun by the legendary Father Damien
. Her brother, Walter C. Alvarez
, would later distinguish himself as a physician and author. Her nephew Luis Alvarez
(son of Walter), was a Nobel Prize
winner in physics. The family moved to Los Angeles, California
when Alvarez was a youth.
Alvarez demonstrated artistic talent at a young age and 1915 enrolled in a Los Angeles art school, where she enjoyed immediate success. She painted a large mural for the Panama-California Exposition San Diego, for which she won a Gold Medal. Alvarez attended William Cahill’s School for Illustration and Painting in Los Angeles and drew a charcoal portrait of a woman in profile used by the School for its catalog cover.
Her first portrait painting was displayed at the Los Angeles Museum (now the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
) in 1917, a museum with which she continued a close relationship until her death. As a young woman, she was influenced by the philosophical writings of Will Levington Comfort
, who espoused principles of Theosophy
and Eastern mysticism.
In the 1920s and 30s, her works were heavily influenced by the Synchromist Movement
’s Stanton MacDonald-Wright and Morgan Russell
, who would remain her teacher for over 20 years. These early paintings based on her interest in Symbolism
, Art Nouveau
and Impressionism
. In 1922 she became a member of the Group of Eight.
The primary color that Alvarez used to express herself was green which to her represented joy, love, hope, youth and mirth. These colors were played out on a stage of canvasses in the forms of universal ideals and archetypes: the child, the innocent maiden, the temptress, the faithful wife, the spiritual seeker, the earthbound spirit in limbo, and the liberated spirit that has transcended Earth's constraints.
Alvarez painted into her sixties and seventies. Her works included Impressionism, as well as to figure, still-life, and portrait painting. Her late pieces are focused on religious and symbolic themes.
The later years of her life were spent in a retirement apartment and then in a nursing home. She died on March 13, 1985, at the age of ninety-three in Los Angeles.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
. Her works, often introspective and spiritual in nature, and her style is considered a contributing factor to the Southern California Modernism
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
and California Impressionism
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
movement..
Life
She was born to a prominent Spanish family who lived on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Her father, Luis F. AlvarezLuis F. Alvarez
Luis Fernández Álvarez was a Spanish American physician and researcher who practiced in both California and Hawaii.Fernández was actually his principal surname...
, a physician, was involved with the leprosy research begun by the legendary Father Damien
Father Damien
Father Damien or Saint Damien of Molokai, SS.CC. , born Jozef De Veuster, was a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium and member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, a missionary religious order...
. Her brother, Walter C. Alvarez
Walter C. Alvarez
Walter Clement Alvarez was an American doctor of Spanish descent. He authored several dozen books on medicine, and wrote Introductions and Forewords for many others....
, would later distinguish himself as a physician and author. Her nephew Luis Alvarez
Luis Alvarez
Luis W. Alvarez was an American experimental physicist and inventor, who spent nearly all of his long professional career on the faculty of the University of California, Berkeley...
(son of Walter), was a Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
winner in physics. The family moved to Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
when Alvarez was a youth.
Alvarez demonstrated artistic talent at a young age and 1915 enrolled in a Los Angeles art school, where she enjoyed immediate success. She painted a large mural for the Panama-California Exposition San Diego, for which she won a Gold Medal. Alvarez attended William Cahill’s School for Illustration and Painting in Los Angeles and drew a charcoal portrait of a woman in profile used by the School for its catalog cover.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is an art museum in Los Angeles, California. It is located on Wilshire Boulevard along Museum Row in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles, adjacent to the George C. Page Museum and La Brea Tar Pits....
) in 1917, a museum with which she continued a close relationship until her death. As a young woman, she was influenced by the philosophical writings of Will Levington Comfort
Will Levington Comfort
Will Levington Comfort was a U.S. writer, known primarily for adventure novels such as Apache. Three of Comfort's works served as the story for feature films...
, who espoused principles of Theosophy
Theosophy
Theosophy, in its modern presentation, is a spiritual philosophy developed since the late 19th century. Its major themes were originally described mainly by Helena Blavatsky , co-founder of the Theosophical Society...
and Eastern mysticism.
In the 1920s and 30s, her works were heavily influenced by the Synchromist Movement
Synchromism
Synchromism was an art movement founded in 1912 by American artists Stanton MacDonald-Wright and Morgan Russell. Their abstract "synchromies", based on a theory of color that analogized it to music, were among the first abstract paintings in American art...
’s Stanton MacDonald-Wright and Morgan Russell
Morgan Russell
Morgan Russell was a U.S. abstract painter. He was born and raised in New York City in 1886. He was, along with artist Stanton Macdonald-Wright, the founder of Synchromism an important modernist movement in early 20th century art.-Biography:Initially he studied architecture and after 1903 he...
, who would remain her teacher for over 20 years. These early paintings based on her interest in Symbolism
Symbolism (arts)
Symbolism was a late nineteenth-century art movement of French, Russian and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts. In literature, the style had its beginnings with the publication Les Fleurs du mal by Charles Baudelaire...
, Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
and Impressionism
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
. In 1922 she became a member of the Group of Eight.
The primary color that Alvarez used to express herself was green which to her represented joy, love, hope, youth and mirth. These colors were played out on a stage of canvasses in the forms of universal ideals and archetypes: the child, the innocent maiden, the temptress, the faithful wife, the spiritual seeker, the earthbound spirit in limbo, and the liberated spirit that has transcended Earth's constraints.
Alvarez painted into her sixties and seventies. Her works included Impressionism, as well as to figure, still-life, and portrait painting. Her late pieces are focused on religious and symbolic themes.
The later years of her life were spent in a retirement apartment and then in a nursing home. She died on March 13, 1985, at the age of ninety-three in Los Angeles.
Notable collections
- Honolulu Academy of ArtsHonolulu Academy of ArtsThe Honolulu Academy of Arts is an art museum in Honolulu in the state of Hawaii. Since its founding in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke and opening April 8, 1927, its collections have grown to over 40,000 works of art.-Description:...
, Honolulu, Hawaii - San Diego Museum of ArtSan Diego Museum of ArtThe San Diego Museum of Art is a fine arts museum located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California that houses a broad collection with particular strength in Spanish art. The San Diego Museum of Art opened as The Fine Arts Gallery of San Diego on February 28, 1926, and changed its name to the San...
, San Diego, California