Alferez Frieze

Speaking of Art

You can’t help but notice the striking sculptures by Enrique Alferez around town. Born in Mexico, he moved here in 1929 and made New Orleans his home for the next 70 years.?á The Ogden Museum of Art is currently hosting an exhibit celebrating the prolific artist.

The Created World of Enrique Alf?®rez runs through April 2nd, 2012. But if you can’t make it to the Ogden, stretch your legs and come visit the Library Commons where you can view The Conquest of Yellow Fever.

James Carroll & Yellow Fever

110 years ago today, Major James Carroll, a US Army Physician, “allowed an infected mosquito to feed on him in an attempt to isolate the means of transmission of yellow fever. Carroll developed a severe case of yellow fever, helping his colleague, Army pathologist Walter Reed, prove that mosquitoes transmit this often-deadly disease (from the Library of Congress).” James Carroll is one of the Yellow Fever Commission physicians featured on the Enrique Alferez frieze in the LSUHSC Library Commons. The featured men are Walter Reed, Aristides Agramonte (for whom the Library was originally named), Jesse Lazear, and James Carroll.

Library Commons in the News

The Times Picayune featured a story on the new Library Commons yesterday. The photos looks great!

Alferez Frieze – Library Commons’ Sculpture

Yesterday another milestone was reached in the completion of the Library Commons. “The Conquest of Yellow Fever” frieze by Enrique Alferez was mounted in a specially prepared wall. (Specially prepared because the frieze weighs about 2 tons.)

The frieze originally hung on the 2nd floor of the original School of Medicine building and was completed sometime before 1933. The frieze was removed from the wall at 1542 Tulane Avenue in 1987 when a proposed drop ceiling would have covered it; the sculpture’s champion was former LSUHSC Libraries Director Judith Caruthers. Sometime before it’s removal it was accidentally painted institutional green (prior to 1961) covering the original aluminum coating (over plaster). It was stored in the Library (both at 1542 and at the then new Resource Center Library, now John P. Isché Library). It was sent to a conservator for restoration in 1999.

The conservator will complete the restoration now that the piece is in place. The frieze will be beautiful addition to the Library Commons.