Alfred S. Mira

I. Biography

Alfred Mira was born in 1900 in Sicily, Italy, and immigrated with his family at an early age to Greenwich Village in New York City. He spent his childhood between attending school and in his father’s carpentry shop. From early on, his primary interest was drawing, often filling his schoolbooks and notebooks with sketches.

His family was unable to afford formal art instruction, so Mira worked in an interior decorating studio,k saving his modest wages until he could enroll at the National Academy of Design. His family was unable to afford formal art education. In 1919, Mira entered the Academy, but financial constraints forced him to leave and return to work at a mural art studio. He found employment at a mural art studio and, whenever time allowed, he attended studio classes at the Beaux-Arts School. After three years of working, Mira re-enrolled at the National Academy, where he studied with Ivan Olinsky.

During this formative period, Mira traveled through Europe in 1928, including Paris, southern France, and Italy, but ultimately concluded that the streets of Greenwich Village provided his strongest artistic inspiration. Upon returning to New York in 1929, he exhibited a street scene at the National Academy to favorable critical reception, leading to further acceptance in national exhibitions.

He developed a sustained focus on New York City subjects, particularly Washington Square, MacDougal Street, Seventh Avenue South, and landmarks such as Federal Hall, the Plaza Hotel, and the New York Public Library. His work often incorporated dynamic, angled viewpoints described by some critics as “moving camera eye impressions.” 

Mira’s style combined loose, rapid brushwork and a commitment to plein air painting. While his urban subject matter and energetic handling aligned him with the legacy of the Ashcan School—particularly artists such as John Sloan and George Luks—his approach also drew comparisons to French Impressionism. Mira, however, rejected direct affiliation, stating that while he held great esteem for the French Masters, his goal was to develop a distinctly American Impressionism.

Over a career spanning more than fifty years, Mira became known for intimate, atmospheric depictions of New York City’s architectural and civic landmarks, rendered with a consistent focus on light, structure, and urban atmosphere. He died in 1981.

II. Chronology

• 1900 Born in Italy; moves to Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York where he spends his childhood
• 1919 Enters the National Academy of Design, New York
• 1926 Attends studio classes at the Art Students League, New York
• 1928 Travels to Europe, including Italy and France
• 1929 Returns to the United States and exhibits at the National Academy of Design

III. Collections

• Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

IV. Exhibitions

• 1932-49 Corcoran Gallery Biennial (3 times)
• 1933 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Annual Exhibition
• 1935 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Annual Exhibition
• 1941 Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Directions in American Painting
• 1944 National Academy, New York, National Academy 118th Annual Exhibition
• 1944 Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Painting in the United States, October 12–December 10
• 1945 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Annual Exhibition
• 1945 Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Painting in the United States 
• 1945 New York Historical Society, New York, Allied Artists of America, 32nd Annual Exhibition
• 1945-49 Salmagundi Club, New York, New York, Salmagundi Club Painting and Watercolor Exhibitions
• 1946 Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Painting in the United States, October 10–December 8
• 1947 Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Painting in the United States, October 9–December 7
• 1948 Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Painting in the United States, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, October 14–December 12
• 1948 The National Arts Club, New York, New York, Allied Artists of America 35th Annual Exhibition
• 1949 Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Painting in the United States, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, October 13–December 11
• 1959 Art Students League Exhibition, New York, New York
• 1981 Dies
• 2014 Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, Industrial Sublime: Modernism and the Transformation of New York’s Rivers, 1900-1940, October 12, 2013 to January 17, 2014
• 2021 Questroyal Fine Art, New York, Hope Springs Eternal
• 2023 Questroyal Fine Art, New York, New York: City Of The World

V. Memberships

• National Academy of Design
• Allied Artists of America
• Salmagundi Club

VI. Notes

1. “About,” Alfred Mira Fine Art, accessed May 20, 2026.

VII. Suggested Resources

• Tom Davies, Collecting Stories: 400 Paintings, 400 Stories: A Collection of American Paintings (Quantuck Lane Press, 2010).