PAINTER & Author

versión en español  and English translation: 

To the English painter James Reeve (1939-2024)

Villa de La Paz, S.L.P. - The English painter James Reeve (1939-2024) had for years a cordial relationship with San Luis Potosí in general, and with La Paz in particular, when he decided to donate to Fomento Cultural del Norte Potosino, A.C., a collection of the best of his works. 

It was through the intervention of the cultural promoter Ysabel Galán that this donation was made, which was quite an event the day it was inaugurated as a permanent exhibition under the name Portraits and Chimeras at the San Francisco Gallery in La Paz on October 5, 2012.

That afternoon a large number of people attended, boys, girls, young people, adults, etc. There were dances, music and a dinner hosted by James Reeve. He spoke Spanish very well. And yes, like a good Englishman, he was eccentric and had intensified that eccentricity with his long travels around the world. He knew how to respect Mexicans and praised them in his paintings. 

He managed to get rid of that sense of superiority that some foreigners convey when they visit, especially the Mexican provinces, and he made efforts to, without ceasing to be him, be like us.

Here, in La Paz, he was received as a friend because he undoubtedly seduced his emotion and his taste for art, which is something that Mexicans are born with. It was very interesting: he didn't want to get something from us but rather offer us the best he had: his painting.

The friends he left in La Paz have commented that the bond between this town and him is now unbreakable. For this reason, due to the death of the artist that occurred last May and due to his generosity, Fomento Cultural del Norte Potosino, A.C., has prepared the posthumous Tribute that will take place on August 29, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. the San Francisco Gallery (Old Hospital of La Paz), Ocampo 1. The meeting will be formal and admission is free.