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Please pronounce the name Luis as "Lu-ee" as he did.

     

May 15, 2004.  I am Luis Mora’s niece.  He was married to my father’s sister, my Aunt Sophie, who Uncle Luis called Sonia.  I prefer to remain anonymous because I am a certain age, and my sight is almost gone. For all these years, I have waited for somebody to take an interest in Uncle Luis’ art.   He reached the top of his field despite many other good painters in his day. 

     I have vivid memories of Uncle Luis. He was a bundle of energy.  He was cheerful, witty, and he made us laugh. He had a studio over the garage at our home that faced the water.  He’d paint scenes of people sailing on the bay, and he loved to paint our family.  He painted a portrait of me when I was two years old. 

    Uncle Luis was a compassionate man who also used his talents to paint the plight of poor people.  He valued diversity, and painted it often.  He hated the Great War that killed so many men, and he helped the war effort by designing outstanding posters.  Uncle Luis traveled often.  He stored his paintings in our home before 1931, when we all suffered the death of my Aunt Sophie, his wife Sonia-mia.

     Uncle Luis died when I was sixteen.  Our family tried to do the best for his paintings for Uncle Luis' memory, and for Rosemary's benefit. She was Uncle Luis' daughter, my first cousin.  She suffered horribly from her parents' deaths. Our family, Uncle Luis' in-laws, weren’t in the art business. 

     Uncle Luis had his own style. He was a Spanish-American Artist, now coined "Hispanic."  Uncle Luis loved the Spanish Old Masters and he melded their techniques into American Modern Paintings. After Uncle Luis died, there was an onslaught of interest in paintings with distorted figures, such as cubism, and abstract paintings. 

    Our family has mostly all died.  I don’t feel alone because I am surrounded by memories from family heirlooms and Uncle Luis' paintings.  I am not easy to find, but Lynne Baron searched for me.  I am happy to help her plan an exhibition of Uncle Luis' art.  I’ve stored Luis’ letters and papers all these years for just this purpose.  I am deeply touched that Uncle Luis’ art and legacy will finally come alive, thanks to Lynne.  It’s about time.

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