Salvador Martinez Alvarado, American (1887 - 1977)

Salvador Martinez Alvarado was born on December 28, 1887, in an adobe in Colton, California. He was one of fourteen children born to Miguel and Ascension Alvarado. The Alvarado family settled first in the small town of La Placita and later relocated to Ontario, California. The Alvarado family history dates back to the first wagon trains of Spaniards who relocated from New Mexico to California.

Salvador’s interest in the beautiful landscapes of Southern California was keen and his artistic talent was evident at a young age. He drew sketches of La Placita and Agua Mansa, the first non-native settlements in the San Bernardino Valley. His knowledge of the local area contributed greatly to Joyce Carter Vickery’s book titled Defending Edan, a history of San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

Salvador Martinez Alvarado was a self taught artist. He became accomplished in portraiture as well as landscapes. It was his colorful depictions of California landscapes that brought him success as an artist. He married and had children, one of whom, Joan Beauregard, became an accomplished artist in her own right. Salvador maintained an art studio behind the family home in Alta Loma (now Rancho Cucamonga.) During the cooler months he worked in his art studio creating southern California landscape paintings from memory. In the heat of summer, Salvador worked in the house writing his memoirs. Salvador was also an accomplished musician and actor. He often played the violin at local dances and acted in theatrical performances at the Padua Hills Theatre.

The art of Salvador Martinez Alvarado was exhibited at the Pomona Valley Art Association Gallery, where he was also a member. In 1971, the San Bernardino County Museum in Bloomington, California held a retrospective of his work exhibiting twenty of his California landscape paintings.