Mildred Torress-Speeg

Mildred Torress-Speeg

Artist-
Born~ May 1935 Ellis Island, NY
Died~ April 2019 Mountain City, Georgia
Artist Statement
"My affinity to the Indigenous peoples of the world has grown larger as I grow older, and because my ancestry is Arawak Taíno and Hispanic, I decided many years ago to paint in pastel and oils, a tribal race of peace-loving, fiercely determined, and long-suffering warriors - the Native American Indians.
I feel if we are to understand the magnitude of their nostalgia for a way of life never to be the same, we must understand the holographic essence of the Native American spirit. I hope my work will serve in some way to epitomize, if only through creation, what I see through personal eye contact and old photos of a proud nation of displaced people." ~ Mildred Torres-Speeg

BIO
Mildred Torres-Speeg, raised in Manhattan, New York, was a graduate of the "School of Industrial Art", in New York City. Mildred studied with such leading portrait artists as Frank Szasz and Alexis Von Volborth, whom she studied under for two years. Von Volborth was an Art Professor at the University of Cincinnati. She also studied with Daniel Greene, N.A., PSA, Anna K. Singly, and Kay Polk, PSA, APSC.

Although Mildred's interests covered a variety of subjects and media, she preferred painting in pastels and oils.

She was especially interested in the Indians of North and South America and their cultures; many of her works focus on this theme. She felt an intense compassion, respect, love, and affinity toward them because she was of Taino Indian and Spanish ancestry. This is very evident when you view her many paintings of Indians. The spirit, pain, and pride seem to leap out at you from the paintings. She did extensive research on the Indian type, their culture, etc., to authenticate the paintings.
Mildred lived and traveled throughout the United States, Asia, the Caribbean, and Central America. She was the 1990 President of the Albany Georgia Artist Guild. She is the present United Confederation of the Taino People Liaison Officer for the state of Georgia.