Ernesto Montenegro Biography

Ernesto Montenegro was raised in America by his Chilean parents where his father Enrique Montenegro was a well-known fine art painter and professor at several prestigious east coast universities.

Ernesto Montenegro began his career in 1969 when he desired to apprentice with famed sculptor Henry Moore. Moore told him he needed more experience, to go to New York City and immerse himself in art. He did. He worked in the morning as a shoe salesman and spent his afternoons sketching at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Eventually, he was given the opportunity to study in France with John Skeaping, a friend of Henry Moore. He then painted fine art in Boston before his passion finally returned him to sculpting.

In 1975, Montenegro apprenticed to sculptor Richard Rosenblum, a narrative sculptor of classical and abstract art. Montenegro worked in bronze, which became his sole medium for expressing his talent and imagination.

After studying with Rosenblum, Montenegro never returned to painting. Instead, one of his first major works, a bronze titled "Via Crucis," which depicts the 14 stations of the cross, won the Religious Sculpture Award of Monte Carlo's Prix d'Art Contemporan.

Montenegro's award winning creations and major commissions can be seen in many honorable institutions: Boston College, River Court in Cambridge, Federal Reserve Gallery, Fogg Museum, and National Academy of Design in New York City.

Montenegro is the recipient of the prestigious Peter Abate Award. His diverse talent allows a myriad of styles from abstract to realistic, from intricate reliefs to monumental bronzes. Montenegro's magnificent bronze sculptures depict meaningful moments in the lives of his subjects.

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