Revered San Antonio visual artist Jesse Treviño has died following battle with cancer

Jesse Treviño, a San Antonio artist known for vivid paintings of West Side life and for landmark works of public art including the 93-foot-high angel mural on Santa Rosa Children's Hospital, has died.

He was 76.

Our Lady of the Lake University confirmed the death of the artist and alumnus in a Monday evening statement.

"Jesse Treviño was a beloved artist and friend to OLLU whose legacy reaches around the world,” university President Abel A. Chávez said in the statement. “He achieved fame and success but never forgot his West Side roots. OLLU is incredibly proud to count him among our alumni. He will be greatly missed.”

In a tweet, Mayor Ron Nirenberg said the artist's "kindness and courage will live forever in our hearts," adding that his work will endure as "icons" across the city.

"Jesse Treviño was an American hero," Nirenberg added. "The wounds of the Vietnam war, which took so many of his friends and neighbors from the Westside of San Antonio, never left him, but he used those scars to bring healing to millions of people."

As a teen, Treviño landed a full scholarship to attend art school in New York. However, he was called up to serve in the Vietnam War and lost his painting hand to an explosion from a land mine.

Treviño learned to paint again with his left hand while attending San Antonio College and later at OLLU. He credited two Sisters from the Congregation of Divine Providence at the latter school for inspiring him to refine his skills.

“I didn’t have confidence,” Treviño said at OLLU in 2019. “They helped me regain it.”  

During his career, he became one of the most prolific creators of public art in the Alamo City and was nationally recognized by scholars and collectors. Several of his paintings are in the Smithsonian Institution's art collection.

Along with his Santa Rosa mural, The Spirit of Healing, Treviño is also known for creating La Veladora of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a mixed-media mural featuring a 3D votive candle with an eternal flame at the Guadalupe Theater.

Treviño beat cancer a decade ago and remained active with his art, according to a recent San Antonio Report story.

Last fall, he underwent a 15-hour surgery in Houston to remove a cancerous tumor from his jaw. Prior to his surgery in November, he was in the beginning stages of projects for downtown's Alameda Theater along with Latinx veterans memorial planned for installation in Elmendorf Lake Park.

"I’m saddened to hear of Jesse Treviño’s passing," Congressman Joaquin Castro, D-San Antonio, posted on his social media accounts. "He was a beloved artist from San Antonio’s Westside who used his talent to create signature pieces of art that have undoubtedly become embedded in our city’s culture. He will be deeply missed, and his family is in my prayers."

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