Diego Rivera is usually thought of as the Father of Modern Mexican art. However, Ramon Alva de la Canal, in an interview in 1978, claims that this place really belongs to Alfredo Ramos Martinez. What is this claim based on? This article gives background information on Alfredo Ramos Martinez which supports the claim made by Alva de la Canal.

Alfredo Ramos Martinez was born in Monterrey, Mexico on November 3, 1871. In 1890 he was given a scholarship to study at the prestigious Academia Nacional de Bellas Artes in Mexico City.
Martinez' work soon came to the attention of Phoebe Hearst, wife of William Randolph Hearst, the publishing magnet. Martinez moved to Paris where he studied for 8 years, three of which were underwritten by Hearst. While in Paris Martinez became a devotee of the Post-Impressionists. In 1905 and 1907 his works were exhibited in Paris at the well-known Salón de Otoño. His most widely known work from that time is La Primavera, a lovely work depicting a Springtime stroll in the park by a group of young women.
Martinez returned to Mexico in 1909 and was subsequently named Director of the National Academy of Art in Mexico City. At this time there was a student protest at the Academy so Martinez began holding classes in the open air and founded what came to be known as the Escuela al Aire Libre de Pintura (the Open Air School of Art) en Santa Anita, Iztapalapa. One of the students in the group was David Alfaro Siqueiros, who later was recognized as one of the great muralists of Mexican art. Also in this group was another artist, Ramos Alva de la Canal. It was Alva de la Canal who would later claim that Marinez is the true father of Mexican Modern Art partly due to the fact that, when Vascocellos, founder of Mexican Education, sought a group of artists to paint a mural on the walls of the National Teacher’s College, he was directed to Martinez and his students. Martinez was offered the principal role of lead artist but he had to decline due to a health condition that prohibited him from climbing up the scaffolding. The position was then offered to Diego Rivera who did accept it upon his return from Europe. It was this recognition of his National prominence as an artist and founder/director of the Art School that he should be given the deserved recognition as the Father of Modern Mexico Art. At that point in time he was more well known than Diego was.
Although Martinez presented himself as almost a Parisian “dandy” sporting gloves and leggings and regularly using French phrases, he actually returned to his Mexican roots by studying prehispanic sculpture. In this art form he discovered the powerful use of geometry and began to adopt this same form in his works. One can observe the contrast in styles over time by comparing the impressionism in La Primavera with the angular style of Las Flores.
Much of Martinez' later work focuses on the life of Mexico's indigenous peoples and the Mexican landscape. His art is known for its delicate elegance and a certain frivolity which nevertheless captures the primitiveness of everyday life. He visually captures the everyday activities of women, children and old people showing us a somewhat painful and severe human existence.
Alfredo Ramos Martinez died unexpectedly on November 8, 1946 while working on a mural depicting Mexican themes at Scripps College, in Claremont, California. The mural has been left unfinished as a tribute to him.
Martinez' works have fetched high prices on the international art market in recent years. For example, his 1938 "Flowers of Mexico" sold for over four million dollars at an auction at Christie's in May 2007.