F. Luis Mora
F. Luis Mora (1874-1940) was a Uruguayan-born painter, muralist, and illustrator known for depicting figural scenes of early 20th century life. He moved with his family to America at a young age and settled near Boston; he attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts where he was taught by American Impressionists.
At age 22 he traveled to Madrid and Barcelona and was heavily influenced by William Merritt Chase, Velazquez, and other Spanish masters. Later he became a popular art instructor at the Chase School of Design (which later became known as Parson’s School of Design). Georgia O’Keeffe was one of his students.
Mora won many awards for his paintings and exhibits within the New York artistic community. He was a prolific artist who created many works in different mediums but was very successful as an illustrator for various books and publications.
Subway Riders in NYC (1914) is a painting that clearly shows Mora’s illustrative talents. He has captured six riders on a subway train, four transfixed on the newspapers they are reading, one staring straight ahead, and a woman in the center who has caught the eye of the viewer or painter. Photography was popular at this time and Mora may have been influenced by painting a scene like a photograph. Although this painting was created more than 100 years ago, it is easy to recognize the similarities of subway riders today with their heads tilted downwards staring at their cell phones instead of newspapers.
Mora died at the age of 64; 34 of his paintings are still hanging in museums around the world including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Smithsonian Museum of American Art. His portrait of US President Warren Harding still hangs in the White House today.
- Heidi Werber