Mijares Fernández, José María
(b. 1921)
Oral history interview with José Maria Mijares, 1998 Jan. 17
PainterMiami, Fla.
An interview of José Maria Mijares conducted by Juan A. Martínez 1998 Jan. 17, in Mijares' home/studio, Miami, Florida, for the Archives of American Art.
Mijares discusses his background; his early interest in drawing; attending Cuba's main art school, the San Alejandro Academy of Art, Havana; his professors, Leopoldo Romanach and Armando Menocal; artistic influences of Cuban modernist painters Fidelio Ponce and Amelia Peláez; being awarded the second prize in a national exhibition in Hanava, 1944 for his work Alameda; the art movement in the 1950s "arte concreto," which involved geometric abstraction and art for art's sake; difficulties of being an artist in Cuba due to lack of galleries and collectors; teaching at San Alejandro in the late 1950s; going into exile in the mid-1960s to Miami; his work schedule of drawing and painting about 6 hours daily; favorite medium being oil on canvas, but also works with serigraphy and watercolor; briefly mentions his artistic style; and his nostalgia for Cuba which is a source of inspiration in his work.