What We Fund

The Largest Collection of Enrique Alférez sculptures nestled away in a corner of New Orleans City Park. 

Located in the New Orleans Botanical Garden 

The Helis Foundation’s Enrique Alférez Sculpture Garden is tucked inside the New Orleans Botanical Garden. The sculpture garden celebrates the history, influence, and work of Mexican American artist Enrique Alférez (1901-1999). The garden is 8,000 sq. ft. and features over 20 sculptures set within sweeping footpaths surrounded by the Botanical Garden’s lush greenery.  

The son of a Mexican sculptor, Alférez spent part of his young adult life in the army of Pancho Villa in the Mexican Revolution before coming to the United States. He studied with the prolific sculptor Lorado Taft in Chicago in the 1920s, then moved to New Orleans in 1929, where he lived for almost 70 years until his death in 1999.   

His sculptures and reliefs adorn many parks, buildings, and landmarks throughout New Orleans and South Louisiana.  Alférez created numerous sculptures for New Orleans City Park through the Works Progress Administration, including the iconic bridges that cross City Park’s many waterways. Alférez also sculpted Molly Marine, the first woman in a military uniform statue in the United States, at Canal Street and Elk Place.  

If you’re a fan of Alférez’s work, you can also purchase the book Enrique Alférez: Sculptor by Katie Bowler Young from the Oscar J. Tolmas Center at the entrance to the Botanical Garden. Published by The Historic New Orleans Collection in 2021, the book chronicles the life of the preeminent artist and was made possible with support from The Helis Foundation and members of The Historic New Orleans Collection’s 2019 Bienville Circle and Laussat Society.  

Interested in going to The Enrique Alférez Sculpture Garden?  

The Helis Foundation provides free admission to The Enrique Alférez Sculpture Garden at the New Orleans Botanical Garden for Louisiana residents every Wednesday from 10 am – 5 pm.