Alfredo de la Maria was born in Uraguay in 1945. Studied art and architecture at the Bellas Artes School, Montevideo. Before turning to automotive subjects, De la Maria gained experience in other fields of art. At 18 he illustrated politics and sporting events for a leading Uruguayan newspaper. He held an exhibit of equestrian paintings in the city of Punta del Este, his studies of polo becoming well-known in Uruguay. And his paintings of naval and aviation subjects were also much in demand. At 21 Alfredo left for Europe, where he settled in Paris for three years. While there he was inspired by classical works of European fine artists like France’s Claude Monet and Spain’s Joaquin Sorolla. He returned to South America to work fora large publishing company in Buenos Aires where he created illustrations for the covers of major Argentinean magazines. During this time he became totally involved with automotive art, and in 1989 made the first of many exhibits at the Buenos Aires Classic Cars Club. Painting in oil, watercolor, tempera and pastel, De la Maria developed his distinctive style that falls between realism and impressionism. As a viewer, you can feel the emotion and enthusiasm he puts into every painting. His use of oils combined with his impressionist style brings comparisons with legends of automotive art such as F.Gordon Crosby and Walter Gotschke.
