Ricardo Estrada

Ricardo Estrada is a Los Angeles-based Chicano artist recognized for his sensitive and dignified portraits of individuals often overlooked by traditional fine art. His paintings and drawings highlight the humanity of street people, laborers, and everyday community members, challenging stereotypes and expanding the definition of who is deemed worthy of artistic representation. Estrada’s work is marked by a commitment to capturing both physical likeness and inner spirit, emphasizing pride, resilience, and dignity in his subjects.

While his art frequently focuses on marginalized figures, Estrada has also been sought out for high-profile commissions. Notably, he was commissioned by boxer Oscar De La Hoya to create a portrait of himself and Manny Pacquiao in advance of their celebrated Las Vegas fight. This commission reflects Estrada’s ability to move fluidly between community-based portraiture and broader cultural narratives.

Estrada’s career has earned him recognition not only in Los Angeles but also internationally, with his work collected by major museums and institutions. His paintings and drawings are held in the permanent collections of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, the Santa Monica Museum of Art, the Carnegie Museum of Art (Oxnard, CA), and the National Museum of American Art at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. Internationally, his work is included in the Centre d’Art in Santa Monica, Barcelona, and the El Centro Cultural Tijuana. Additional collections include the Bass Museum of Art (Miami Beach, FL), the Boise Museum of Art (ID), the El Paso Museum of Art (TX), the Gruenwald Art Center at UCLA’s Hammer Museum, and both the Mexican Museum in Chicago and the Mexican Museum in San Francisco.

Through his career, Estrada has remained dedicated to portraying the lives of people too often rendered invisible. His art asserts the value of every individual, while contributing to the broader narrative of Chicano art as a vehicle for cultural affirmation and social truth.