Alfredo Zalce (Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, 1908 - Morelia, 2003) studied at the Escuela Nacional de Bellas Artes (National School of Fine Arts) from 1924 to 1928 under the tutelage of Germán Gedovius and Leandro Izaguirre. In 1930, he founded the Escuela de Pintura y Escultura (School of Painting and Sculpture) in Taxco, Guerrero, and devoted much of his life to teaching. Between 1932 and 1935, he taught at schools under the Secretaría de Educación Pública (Ministry of Public Education) and was an active member of the state's Cultural Missions. In 1933, he became a founding member of the Liga de Escritores y Artistas Revolucionarios (League of Revolutionary Artists and Writers) and a member of the Taller de Gráfica Popular (Workshop for Popular Graphic Art). Later, he taught at La Esmeralda (National School of Painting, Sculpture and Printmaking) and at the Escuela Nacional de Artes Plásticas (National School of Fine Arts) of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (National Autonomous University of Mexico). 

In 1978, he won first prize at the Salón de la Plástica Mexicana (Salon of Mexican Fine Art), and the government of Michoacán established the Alfredo Zalce Fine Arts Prize in his honor. In 1993, the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Michoacán (Museum of Contemporary Art of Michoacán) in Morelia was re-inaugurated as the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo Alfredo Zalce (Alfredo Zalce's Museum of Contemporary Art). Zalce distanced himself from the spotlight, fame, and money, which led him to decline the National Prize for Arts and Sciences twice (in 1990 and 1998) before accepting it in 2001. Zalce is considered "the last post-revolutionary muralist."