May Henriquez

1915 — 1999 | Willemstad, Curaçao

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May Henriquez — AWARE Women artists / Femmes artistes

May Henriquez in her studio at Bloemhof, 1954, © Photo: Collection Bloemhof

Curaçao sculptor.

The daughter of Sephardi banker Joseph Alvarez Correa and Sarah Levy Maduro, May Henriquez-Alvarez Correa grew up in the affluent Scharloo neighbourhood of Willemstad, Curaçao, where prosperous businesspeople from Punda resided in grand homes with opulent interiors. She spent her childhood holidays at the Bloemhof plantation [Landhuis Bloemhof], her grandmother’s country estate, which she later inherited. M. Henriquez received private education, including lessons from Dutch Protestant minister Hendrik Willem Eldermans (1883–1962), who also taught her painting.

In 1935, M. Henriquez married Max Henriquez, who was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and worked for the petroleum company Shell in Maracaibo. The couple therefore initially settled in Mene Grande, but returned to Curaçao in 1939. It was then that M. Henriquez met local art scene figures Lucila Engels-Boskaljon (1920–1993) and Chris Engels (1907–1980), who hosted cultural gatherings. Through this creative circle, she discovered her talent for sculpting.

In 1947, M. Henriquez enrolled at the art academy in Caracas, where she studied under Spanish sculptor Ernest Maragall i Noble (1903–1991). Upon returning home, she converted Landhuis Bloemhof’s carriage house into her studio. Through Willem Sandberg, then-director of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, she was introduced to Russian sculptor Ossip Zadkine (1888–1987), who taught at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris. Impressed by her work, O. Zadkine accepted her as a student. Between 1949 and 1953, M. Henriquez travelled annually to Paris for short periods to attend his classes. She meticulously documented his teachings and reflections in a small notebook, including an instance where, in the company of guests, O. Zadkine discussed a bust she was sculpting. A close relationship developed between the two, and they corresponded regularly. In 1952, she and her husband initiated O. Zadkine’s solo exhibition at the Curaçao Museum, showcasing thirty-six of his works.

In Curaçao, May Henriquez’s studio at Landhuis Bloemhof became a hub for local artists, also attracting Dutch figures such as Corneille (1922–2010), Charles Eyck (1897–1983), and Peter Struycken (b.1939). In 1959, alongside her friends art patron Barbara Smeets and architect Ben Smit, M. Henriquez founded the island’s first art gallery, Galerie De Boog, in Punda.

M. Henriquez remained deeply engaged in business, the Sephardic community, Papiamentu literature and the visual arts in Curaçao until she died in 1999. A month after her death, the major retrospective art exhibition Arte ’99 – Identidat, ayera, awe i mañan [Art ’99 – Identity, yesterday, today and tomorrow] was dedicated to her. Today, Landhuis Bloemhof continues her legacy as an artistic hub, now housing an arts centre.

Josée Thissen-Rojer

A biography produced as part of the project “Related”: Netherlands – Caribbean (XIXth c. – Today)