Biography

Luis Álvarez Roure (b. 1976) is an award-winning artist known for his figure and still-life paintings and portraits of prominent personalities in the performing arts, government, academia, and the corporate world. His style is highly influenced by the traditions of the Old Masters, and he has been praised as a gifted artist with a virtuoso technique that captures both the physical presence and emotional depth of his subjects.

​

Álvarez Roure's paintings are held in the collections of numerous institutions, including the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Princeton University, the Museu Europeu d'Art Modern in Barcelona, the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, the Federal Reserve, The Players of New York, Palacio Santa Catalina (La Fortaleza) in Puerto Rico, the University of Connecticut, the University of Houston Law Center, and Steinway Hall in New York City. His work has also been exhibited at the Kemper Art Museum, the Salmagundi Club, the New Salem Museum, and the Michele and Donald D'Amour Museum of Fine Arts.

In 2022, Álvarez Roure received both the Draper Grand Prize and the People's Choice Award in the 24th International Portrait Competition of the Portrait Society of America. He was a finalist in the 2019 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition and has been a finalist three times in the Art Renewal Center International Salon Competition. He was also a finalist in the international Figurativas 2015 painting competition in Barcelona, Spain.

​

Among Álvarez Roure's best-known works is his portrait of composer Philip Glass, which was acquired by the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery in 2018. The portrait has been featured in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's programs and was selected by Glass himself for the cover of his piano album, Philip Glass Solo, released in January 2024. In 2020, the National Portrait Gallery also acquired Álvarez Roure's portrait of violinist Joshua Bell. Other notable portraits by Álvarez Roure include those of Academy Award-winning actor José Ferrer, Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, Governor of Puerto Rico Pedro Pierluisi, actress and playwright Anna Deavere Smith, founder of New Community Corporation Monsignor William J. Linder, Kennedy Center Honoree Justino Díaz, cellist Steven Isserlis CBE, and multidisciplinary artist and granddaughter of Sir Winston Churchill, Edwina Sandys MBE, among others.

​

His paintings and career have been the subject of coverage by distinguished cultural platforms and publications, including the Los Angeles Times, Google Arts & Culture, Vanity Fair, Fine Art Connoisseur, American Art Collector, International Artist, Art Business News, and American Artist Drawing Magazine.

​

In 2020, the Art Renewal Center recognized Álvarez Roure as a Living Master, a distinction given to artists who have demonstrated a long-lasting commitment to the tradition of representational art in the 21st century.