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  • Biography

    Jose Vives-Atsara (1919-2004)

    His list of Pallbearers says it all. They were not just buyers of his art they were some of his closest friends.

    Pallbearers: E. Glenn Biggs, James M. Cavender, III, Tom C. Frost, Jr., James W. Gorman, Jr., George B. Irish, Joseph R. Krier, Robert L. Mooney and H. Bartell Zachry, Jr.

    Jose Vives-Atsara was born April 13, 1919, in Villafranca del Penedes near Barcelona, Spain. A native Spaniard, he developed a love of painting at an early age, and by age 11 had committed himself to becoming an artist. He studied at Colegio de San Ramon and had his first one-person show at age 14.

    The Spanish Civil interrupted his idyllic young life as he was forced to serve in the Communist Army, and then was imprisoned, suffering many hardships.

    Soon after the war he married Emilia Hill Domenech, and in 1947 set out to move with his wife and child aboard a tramp steamer to the United States. Unfortunately, immigration quotas did not allow them to move directly to the United States, and it was eight years before they achieved that goal. During this interim before obtaining temporary visas, he and his family lived first, in Caracas, Venezuela and then in Mexico City, Mexico.

    The family settled in San Antonio, Texas, where he had made friends on a previous visit. He and his wife and children gained citizenship in time for their first Christmas in the United States. He became such an exemplary immigrant citizen that officials of the U.S. District Court for the Western District Court regularly invited him to share his thoughts and advice for living in America with newly naturalized citizens

    Vives-Atsara also developed a close relationship with the Incarnate Word College, becoming, over the years, both a professor of art, and Artist in Residence. As a painter, he depicted many local scenes including San Antonio missions and the San Antonio River. For special guests such as Pope John Paul II, heads of state, and royalty from foreign countries, he was commissioned to provide paintings as gifts.

    His paintings were also commissioned for Frost Bank and the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce. For his vibrant oil paintings, he used only nine colors, mixed in a variety of ways. They have been described as both realistic and impressionistic.  

    "Vives-Atsara believed that art is a reflection of the artist's soul, if this is true; his paintings reflect a beautiful, bright spirit." (Richardson) Jose Vives-Atsara died in San Antonio on January 13, 2004, and is buried there in Sunset Memorial Park Mausoleum.

    Jose Vives-Atsara was born in Vilafranca del Panades in the Catalonian region of Spain on April 30, 1919. As a small boy he loved to sketch with pencil and paper. He began painting at the age of eleven. His first one-man show came at the ripe old age of fourteen. From that time on, painting has been his love and his way of life.



    Jose studied art at Saint Raymond College and School of Fine Arts in Barcelona. He is quick to admit that his most inspirational teacher has been nature itself.

    Mr. Vives-Atsara came to San Antonio in 1956 where he has established his art career. His use of a palette knife in painting allows him to blend rich pure pigments to achieve his goal of creating a powerful statement of color directly on the canvas. This style is intended to produce works that are distinctively 'Vives-Atsara'.

    Vives-Atsara is represented in public collections including the Museum of Modern Art, Spain; Fort Worth Art Museum, Texas; His Royal Highness Juan Carlos, King of Spain; the Vatican; the State Capitals of many southern states of the United States.

    He has also been a lecturer and teacher. He was the Artist-In-Resident at Incarnate Word College, San Antonio, Texas. Although Mr. Vives-Atsara studied with many well-known European teachers, he insists that he is still learning about painting and is growing his range of subjects. His focus is on depicting the character of the people of Mexico, colorful and strong florals, and his Texas landscapes, which he regards as breathtaking.

    "Vives-Atsara considers himself fortunate in his ability to approach, even in a small way, the wonders that God has offered to man. For more than forty years, hard work and discipline have been his way of life. 'Discipline in our lives is something that we sometimes do not like today but helps us achieve what we really want tomorrow.' "

    Jose Vives-Atsara Obituary


    Texas' own adopted Spanish-born master artist, Jose Vives-Atsara, left us on Tuesday, January 13, 2004, to join his one and only true Master who had blessed him and guided his talents for so many decades. Jose's magnificent works will always fill and enrich the many special spaces of all who cherished his art. He was loved by all, not only as the gifted painter that he was, but also as the kind, against-all-odds, self-made and charitable man that he personified. Jose Vives-Atsara is survived by his loving wife of 57 wonderful and unforgettable years, Emilia; son, Joseph H. Vives; daughter, Yvonne Vives-Atsara Varney, and husband, Don; his seven adored grandchildren, who called him 'Avi' and used him as a role model every chance they had, Kimberly Vives, Alison Vives, Joseph H. Vives, Jr., James Vives, M. K. 'Kenny' Woodward, III, Shane Woodward and Danielle Woodward; his brother, Juan Anton Vives Atsara of Spain, and numerous in-laws, nieces, nephews and cousins of the extended Vives, Hill, Atsara and Domenech families of his native Catalonia Province, Spain. Jose Vives-Atsara was born on April 30, 1919, in Vilafranca del Penedes near Barcelona, Spain. Jose dedicated himself completely to art at the age of 11, studied his calling at the Colegio de San Ramon, and had his first one-man show when he was 14 years old. In spite of serving in the Spanish Civil War, being a prisoner of war, and enduring many other hardships, Jose continued to develop and grow as an artist upon his return to Vilafranca. After six years of courtship, Jose married his sweetheart and the love of his life, Emilia Hill Domenech. Following a brief honeymoon in Mallorca, Jose and his bride with child traveled to the new world in 1947 aboard a tramp steamer, with his ultimate and undying goal being his cherished United States of America. After eight years in Venezuela and Mexico, Jose and his family finally arrived in San Antonio, Texas in September of 1956. The rest is history. Jose's contributions to art in San Antonio, his state and the nation are well known and too numerous to detail, but range from the faculty of then Incarnate Word College; his famous 'Artist in Action' series in San Antonio, Hollywood and elsewhere; his very special works depicting the San Antonio Missions and his beloved San Antonio River; special commissions for governors, presidents, kings, heads of state and Pope John Paul II upon his visit to San Antonio, and, of course and foremost, providing happiness and beauty to countless collectors throughout the southwest and the nation. Jose's artistic contributions were also from the heart and very generous. His willingness to actively participate in and contribute his works to worthwhile causes is well known to many charitable and civic organizations. Jose Vives-Atsara's love for San Antonio and Texas was only surpassed by his great love for his adopted nation. Jose personified the term 'Proud to be an American.' His patriotic zeal for America was unmatched and his determination to speak forcefully about 'these great United States of America' gained him recognition before many patriotic and historical groups and organizations. The United States District Court for the Western District of Texas regularly invited Jose to share his thoughts and advice with new naturalized citizens on what 'Coming to America' was all about and what it meant to be an American. On such occasions, he was honored, and he loved it, and his new fellow Americans loved it too. Jose, Josep, Papa, Avi and Pepe as some of his closest friends called him, will be missed dearly. However, his extraordinary expressionism and soul will be a constant with us all in those splendorous skies and sunsets, flower bursts and rugged mission walls, magnificent light and shadows and transparent distances, all of which were his trademarks. We will feel the wind and smell the flowers when we enter that special space where he hangs in our homes, workplaces and public buildings. Jose Vives-Atsara will forever be with us. The family wishes to convey its heartfelt gratitude to the magnificent teams of surgeons and physicians under the capable stewardship of Robert N. Schnitzler, M.D., to the loving and caring staff of Southwest Texas Methodist Hospital and to the Oblate Fathers, for their pastoral care and support during the past difficult weeks. ROSARY FRIDAY 7:30 P.M. PORTER LORING MASS SATURDAY 10:30 A.M. CHAPEL OF THE INCARNATE WORD 4503 BROADWAY Pallbearers: E. Glenn Biggs, James M. Cavender, III, Tom C. Frost, Jr., James W. Gorman, Jr.,George B. Irish, Joseph R. Krier, Robert L. Mooney and H. Bartell Zachry, Jr. Honorary Pallbearers: Juan Anton Vives Atsara, Josep Domenech Turne, Juan Sole Bordas, Hon, Solomon Casseb, Jr., Charles Cheever, Rev. Buckner Fanning, George E. Fischer, Brig. Gen. Robert F. McDermott, Walter Muehlhause, Howard Nolan, Dr. Ruskin C. Norman and Hon Nelson Wolfe. Entombment in Sunset Memorial Park Mausoleum #2.

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