In 1994 the International Association for the Visual Arts established the El Paso Artists’ Hall of Fame to honor artists for their accomplishments and contributions to the visual arts scene in the El Paso region. Artwork of the honorees resides in the museum collection. There is also a bronze plaque listing each member of the Hall of Fame in the Museum’s Foyer.
Manuel Acosta- 2002
Manuel Gregorio Acosta was born on May 9, 1921, in the Mexican mining town of Aldama. Mr. Acosta’s parents moved the family across the border to El Paso when “Manny” was only a year old. Mr. Acosta discovered his artistic talent early, spending his grade school years drawing and beginning to study art more seriously as a student at Bowie High School. After spending four years fighting WWII, Mr. Acosta trained at the Chained Art Institute in Los Angeles and then received a scholarship to study art at Texas Western College. There he became student and friend of fellow hall-of-famer Urbici Soler. Through this friendship, Mr. Acosta met New Mexican artist Peter Hurd, opening up even more opportunity. He began to get jobs as a muralist, and eventually started his own studio, where he was famous for throwing the best parties in El Paso. His painting was primarily in oil, but he was also fluent in other media, including bronze. His works included portraiture (the International Museum of Art has a stellar example), and the people and scenes of El Paso’s Mexican-American community. Sadly, Mr. Acosta was murdered in his home in 1989. He will always be remembered as one of El Paso’s greatest and most influential artists.
Manuel Acosta exhibited throughout the United States and Mexico, including such prestigious locales as the CIA Building in Washington, D.C. and the National Institute of Bellas Artes in Mexico City. He painted a portrait of Cesar Chavez for the cover of Time Magazine, which now resides in the National Portrait Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution. He was inducted into the El Paso County Historical Society Hall of Honor in 1984. His work is owned by many collectors and continues to be coveted by art lovers everywhere.
Ricardo Hernandez- 2003
Ricardo Hernandez is an El Paso native who graduated from UTEP with a fine arts degree in 1976. Shortly thereafter, he took a job with the Texas Commission on the Arts, an organization that he would work for for 28 years. From 2002-2007 he served as Executive Director. His very extensive resume bespeaks a long career in the arts community. While serving as a panelist, curator, juror, board member, and many other capacities in various local, regional, and national arts organizations, Mr. Hernandez has spent his entire career as an advocate of the arts. An accomplished artist in his own right, Mr. Hernandez is a renowned sculptor, painter, and musician.
Mr. Hernandez has served as an advisor to many prestigious arts organizations, including the National Ednowment for the Arts and the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture. He has touched many lives through his work as an educator, and he has also produced many publications concerning the arts in our communities. Since his retirement from the Texas Commission on the Arts, he has started to devote more time to his own work.
Hal Marcus- 2003
Hal Marcus was born in 1951 in El Paso, Texas. He is best known for his use of color, a color sense that developed as a child when he accompanied his grandmother on weekly trips to the Juarez Market. Mr. Marcus has traveled the world in search of his subjects, and his art is decidedly multicultural, while still primarily dedicated to the themes of the border region. He currently operates a gallery in El Paso where he sells his own art along with that of several renowned regional artists.
Hal Marcus has won numerous accolades for his craft, locally, nationally, and internationally. His art has been used for numerous worthy causes, such as the Texas State Health Department, the American Heart Association, and the Peace Corps. His work hangs in such places as the Chamizal National Memorial, and the UTEP and El Paso Libraries. In addition to success with his painting, Marcus is also an acclaimed author and filmaker. His film “Hal Marcus 2001” won a Bronze Telly Award given to “outstanding non-network and cable commercials, films, and video productions.”
Alberto Escamilla- 2004
Alberto Escamilla has been a professional artist since 1977. He also served as an art teacher at Father Yermo High School from 1986-2003. He serves as an art history lecturer/consultant for many local entities such as El Paso Community College, Barnes & Noble book Store, Hal marcus Gallery, and numerous radio, television, and print publications. Mr. Escamilla is an impressionist painter whose work is collected by noted patrons of Southwestern art such as Cormac McCarthy.
Exhibits at Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Agora Gallery in New York.
Major exhibits throughout the United States, Mexico, Canada, and Europe.
