Lourdes Perez Art Archive

The artist's 1990s resumé for a job application, showing her art education in New York as well as her work and freelance history.

Archive Contributors

This post celebrates a major update. First, a special thanks to Thomas Perez Jr., the artist’s son (and my brother), who sent me some photos of Lourdes’ paintings, three of which are still part of the archive (and others of which may find use later on). The first version of the site, which I shared […]

Black & white photo of Lourdes Perez, at around age 19, staring into the camera, chin resting on arm.

About this Archive

Lourdes Vasquez Perez (1950-2022) was born and raised in New York City where she attended the High School of Music & Art and the School of Visual Art. She has a wide range, from expressionism to classical still-life to portrait. Her paintings can be found in the homes of family and friends. The mission of […]

Flamingos Primeval

1999 Oil on Canvas. 36" x 48"

Inspired by the tropical environment of South Florida, Lourdes made this painting to decorate her home as a way of connecting the inside to the outside. It forms a set with “Herons”.

Two herons stand, as if posing, on some sticks at the shore of a lake or swamp. One has its head erect and looks to the right. The other looks downward and to the left, its head-feathers ruffled. Around them are various plants and a foggy golden background.

White Herons in the Wood

1998 Oil on Canvas. 30" x 40"

Inspired by the tropical environment of South Florida, Lourdes made this painting to decorate her home as a way of connecting the inside to the outside. It forms a set with “Flamingos”.

A marble or ivory bookend resembling a horse or a chess knight sits on a wooden platform together with a glass bottle containing a dark red liquid. In front of them, on the platform, are four pieces of fruit - pears and apples - and a red, glass container, short, round and with a narrow opening that blossoms outward.

Still Life

1974 Oil on Canvas. 12" x 16"

This was made with some household objects. I most clearly remember the horse bookends from my childhood- they may still be in the house.

A young woman, the artist's daughter, poses with one hand on her head and the other on her waist. Her clothes are reminiscent of traditional middle-eastern garments, but more colorful. Her shirt is a simple turquoise garment folded over and tucked into a cloth, brown belt. Over it she wears a loose, quilted jacket with a multicolored diamond pattern: black, turquoise, purple, pink and salmon. Her shawl consists of many differnt complex patterns patched together. Her expression is cool and confident, perhaps distant.

The Model

1989 Oil on Canvas. 30" x 38"

Portrait of the Lourdes’ daughter, Elisa, dressed in a garment of the artist’s invention. The garment features the multicolor diamond pattern common to a few of her works and shows her interest in textile and pattern design. This interest would continue later in life, when she worked as a carpet designer.

On top of a white dresser, the following objects are collected. In the foreground: a cube-shaped bank made of metal with the letters A and B visible on its sides. A bottle of Johnson's baby powder. A single, blue sneaker, laces untied. A red mouse doll sitting on a fake mousetrap with fake cheese. A picture frame that spells 'Our Baby' with a picture of a dark-haired baby inside of the 'O'. In the background are a small white teddy-bear with a bib that has 'I LOVE YOU' written on it, a ceramic clown doll in red and white, two colorful clown dolls made of cloth and yarn, and a brown teddy-bear with a dark brown ribbon around its neck. An aluminum balloon on a stick is between them.

Teddy and Friends

1986 Watercolor on Paper. 36" x 32"

This painting was made the year I was born and “Teddy” was *my* teddy-bear. It looks like that’s me in the “Our Baby” picture frame as well. Keen-eyed archive-viewers will recognize the porcelain clown doll from Clownish Reflection.

Odds and Ends

1985 Oil on Canvas. 26" x 32"