
Xavier Gonzalez (1898–1993) was an American
artist
An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...
. He was born in
Almeria, Spain.
[Richard MeGra]
"Confronting Modernity: Art and Society in Louisiana"
University Press of Mississippi (2008), pp. 82–89. . He lived in
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
and
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
for some time, and was planning on becoming an engineer in a gold mine.
In 1925, he immigrated to the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
.
Education
Gonzalez began his studies at the
Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...
from 1921 to 1923, and his uncle,
José Arpa
José Arpa y Perea (1858–1952), was an artist of Spanish birth who worked in Spain, Mexico, and Texas and was noted for his Costumbrista
''Costumbrismo'' (in Catalan: ''costumisme''; sometimes anglicized as costumbrism, with the adjectival ...
, studied with him there. He also studied at the San Carlos Academy in
Mexico City
Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...
, as well as in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
and in the
Far East
The Far East is the geographical region that encompasses the easternmost portion of the Asian continent, including North Asia, North, East Asia, East and Southeast Asia. South Asia is sometimes also included in the definition of the term. In mod ...
. In 1931, Gonzalez became a US citizen, and in 1935, he married fellow artist
Ethel Edwards
Ethel Edwards (1914– 1999) was an American painter, collage artist, illustrator, and muralist. She is known for her New Deal murals.
Education
In 1933 she entered Newcomb College in New Orleans where she studied with Xavier Gonzalez. She mar ...
(1914–1999), who was seventeen years his junior and also his student at
Newcomb College
H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College was the coordinate women's college of Tulane University, located in New Orleans, in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It was founded by Josephine Louise Newcomb in 1886 in memory of her daughter.
Newcomb was the ...
. He often worked and studied with fellow artist
Julius Woeltz, who was the best man at his wedding.
Gonzales commandeered the
canteen
Canteen most often refers to:
* Canteen (bottle), a water container
* Cafeteria, a type of food service location within an institution in which there is little or no waiting staff table service
* A complete set of cutlery comprising knives, forks, ...
wall at Newcomb for the use of his art students.
Works
Gonzalez's works have been displayed throughout the United States, at the
Corcoran Gallery of Art
The Corcoran Gallery of Art is a former art museum in Washington, D.C., that is now the location of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, a part of the George Washington University.
Founded in 1869 by philanthropist William Wilson Corco ...
, the
Whitney Museum of American Art
The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is a Modern art, modern and Contemporary art, contemporary American art museum located in the Meatpacking District, Manhattan, Meatpacking District and West Village neighbor ...
, the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...
. He was also well known in Paris,
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
,
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
and
Tokyo
Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...
. He taught art at
Tulane University
The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it b ...
, the
Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...
,
Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a Private university, private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case ...
, and the Newcomb Memorial School of Art, and was the director of the art school at
Sul Ross State Teachers College in
Alpine, Texas
Alpine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Brewster County, Texas, United States. The population was 6,035 at the 2020 census. The town has an elevation of , and the surrounding mountain peaks are over above sea level. A university, hospi ...
. In 1953, he was elected to the
National Academy of Design
The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...
as an Associate member, then became a full Academician in 1955. He illustrated a children's book called "He Who Saw Everything, The Epic of Gilgamesh" by Anita Feagles (1966).
Gonzalez died of
leukemia
Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...
in 1993, at the age of 94, at
Calvary Hospital in
the Bronx
The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
,
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
.
Murals
*
Covington, Louisiana
Covington is a city in and the parish seat of St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 11,564 at the 2020 United States census. It is located at a fork of the Bogue Falaya and the Tchefuncte River. Covington is part ...
, ''Tung Oil Industry'', 1939, oil on canvas
*
Hammond, Louisiana
Hammond is the largest city in Tangipahoa Parish, Louisiana, United States, located east of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge and northwest of New Orleans. Its population was 20,019 in the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, and 21 ...
, ''Strawberry Farming'', 1937, oil on canvas
*
Huntsville, Alabama
Huntsville is the List of municipalities in Alabama, most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the List of United States cities by population, 100th-most populous ...
, ''Tennessee Valley Authority'', Federal Courthouse, oil on canvas
*
Kilgore, Texas
Kilgore, officially the City of Kilgore, is a city in Gregg County, Texas, Gregg and Rusk County, Texas, Rusk counties in Texas, United States. Located where Interstate 20 and US 259 converge just south of the Sabine River (Texas–Louisiana), ...
, ''Pioneer Saga'', 1941, oil on canvas
* Kilgore, Texas, ''Drilling for Oil'', 1941, oil on canvas
* Kilgore, Texas, ''Music of Plains'', 1941. oil on canvas
* Kilgore, Texas, ''Contemporary Youth'', 1941. oil on canvas
His wife, Ethel Edwards painted 2 murals; one titled ''Life on the Lake'' in 1942 at the
Lake Providence, Louisiana
Lake Providence is a town in, and the parish seat of, East Carroll Parish, Louisiana, East Carroll Parish in northeastern Louisiana. The population was 5,104 at the 2000 United States Census, 2000 census and declined by 21.8 percent to 3,991 in 2 ...
post office and the other, titled ''Afternoon on a Texas Ranch'', completed in 1941 at the
Lampasas, Texas
Lampasas ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lampasas County, Texas, United States. Its population was 7,291 at the 2020 census.
Lampasas is part of the Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood metropolitan area, Killeen–Temple–Fort Hood Kil ...
post office.
References
External links
AskART
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, Xavier
1898 births
1993 deaths
20th-century American painters
American male painters
Spanish emigrants to the United States
People from Almería
School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni
Tulane University faculty
Case Western Reserve University faculty
Sul Ross State University faculty
Deaths from leukemia in New York (state)
20th-century American male artists
Spanish expatriates in Argentina
Spanish expatriates in Mexico
Section of Painting and Sculpture artists