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i am looking for someone whose is knowlegeable in Fransico Vargas wax dolls. ABOUT THE ARTIST: Born in 1825, Francisco Vargas Sr. was a native of Mexico who arrived in the United States by covered wagon in 1864 and found his way to New Orleans several years later. By 1875, he had set up shop on Royal Street, making wax sculptures, a trade he had learned as a boy from a Jesuit priest. Though beeswax sculptures had been produced for centuries by various cultures, Vargas was part of a resurgence in popularity for the art form, which had started in Mexico during the mid-1800s. Instead of focusing on religious images, Vargas embraced a wider variety of subjects and found a niche in creating human figures and animals as well as fruits, vegetables and flowers. Among the most highly prized of his works were lifelike sculptures of American Indians, often shown in vigorous activities such as riding a horse or hunting with bow and arrow. Vargas’ original sculptures were known for their complexity and intricate detail, which included such minute features as eyelashes, hair and even beads of perspiration.
Tags: dolls, Francisco Vargas Sr., Fransico Vargas wax dolls, New Orleans, wax, Wax dolls
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I have recently acquired 5 of the Vargas figurines ca.1890s and they are really beautiful in their detailed work and would love to learn more about them…
What would you like to know? Francisco Vargas was my great great grandfather. I have always been interested in him and did some ancestory research. I arranged for our family reunion to have a privite showing of his pieces, at the Cabildo Museum, in New Orleans.
Hi Karen and Michelle,
My mother and I are from Louisiana but our ancestry comes originally from Spain. My mother has a large collection of Vargas wax figures and we are trying to research them heavily. We are trying to write about the history of the Vargas family and the wax figure tradition. We are members of the national organization, the United Federation of Doll Clubs (UFDC) whose mission is the research and preservation of dolls. We adore my mother’s collection and the talent that went into these wonderful figures. I believe when my mother was younger, she may have met one of the Vargas family, she mentioned something about being in New Orleans at the museum and talking with a Vargas family member years ago… I would love to speak with you about your family and the wax figure tradition. I hope that you will have a chance to email me or call me! Thank you so much!
Elizabeth
thunderous@comcast.net
520-883-5848 Tucson, AZ
Interesting Karen, he is my great great grandfather as well. I’ve always known that his name was Francisco, but I never knew about him until I became older and started researching my family and finding family journals dating back to the 1700s when they were still in Spain. My grandfather was able to give a lot of information to the Museum dedicated to him in New Orleans. He was able to fill in the blanks on some missing information on wives etc. It is a small world after all.