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D O R O T H Y W A G N E R P U C C I N E L L I1901 * . * , . * . .

Biography and Works"MORAGA AND THE NAMING OF MERCED RIVER"

POST OFFICE--MERCED. CALIFORNIA

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DOROTHY WAGNER PUCCINELLI AND

RAYMOND PUCCINELLI

Dorothy Puccinelli is one of San Francisco's most versatile women artists. She is not only a painter in oils, water color and tempera, but has done lithographing; is in­terested in sculpture; has designed stage settings, and in­terior decorating. In all these fields a certain boldness of execution and originality in design have made her work dis­tinctive. In her work on public buildings she has made use of her highly developed decorative sense, using her space to the best advantage and leaving no holes in the walls she has covered.

Although Dorothy Wagner was born in San Antonio, Texas, December 19, 1901, she was brought to California when a little girl. Her family, who were engaged in the colorful occupation of flower growing, settled in Half Moon Bay, down the coast from San Francisco. There Dorothy attended High School and first became interested in a career of art. When she was eighteen she decided to attend the California School of Fine Arts,and continued her studies there for four years. It was there that she experimented with different types of art work and gained the knowledge of various media which she has used since.

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FURTHER ART EDUCATIONWishing to extend and to diversify her art educa­

tion,Dorothy enrolled in the Rudolph Schaeffer School of De­sign in San Francisco in 1925. Here for two years she spe­cialized in the effect of prismatic color, design, and the laws of aesthetics. She studied the reaction of the human eye to color and light, and balance in form, line,and color, with relation to space.

At the Seventh Annual Exhibit of the San Francisco Society of Women Artists, held in 1932, Dorothy Puccinelli won the first orize of $100.00. Her exhibit, which attract­ed very favorable attention, was a design for a fresco. The subject she selected was a hardy laborer, treated somewhat after the Mexican mural school.

Joseph Danysh, critic on the San Francisco "Argo­naut", writing in that magazine, September 22, 1933, had the following to say of her one man show at the Palace of the Legion of Honor:

"Her present exhibit shows a tendency towards a kind of stylization which, while it happily places elements of design before technical or reoroductive values, her symbols are not yet sufficiently her own to carry full conviction.Her approach to the natural world is a vigor­ous one, eschewing still life and delicately feminine abstractions for strongly modeled heads, and the more virile animal and bird motifs."

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WORK ON GOVERNMENT FRESCOS Dorothy Puccinelli was one of the pioneers in the

Federal Art Program created by President Roosevelt's admin­istration. She first became associated with the Public Works Art Project,, the first of the governmental art programs under the Civil Works Administration, in 1933,and to her and Helen Forbes was assigned the task of decorating the Mothers' House at Fleishhacker's Zoo in San Francisco. Together they de­signed a set of murals to go above the paneling on the four walls. These were to illustrate the story of Noah and his Ark. The animals concerned in the story made the subject a happy selection for the building in the Zoo, and one which would please the adults even as it fascinated the children. The Puccinelli mural represents the building of the Ark, and the story was told with simplicity and restraint. The labor­ing men are working under the shadows of threatening storm clouds which presage the deluge.

Glen Wessels, writing in the Argonaut of June 22, 1954, described the work, briefly, as follows:

"Helen Forbes and Dorothy Wagner Puccinelli are in the finishing throes of their two fres­cos in the Mother House at the Fleishhack- er Zoo. From their present effect these works appear to be among the most successful result­ing from the Public Works Art Project 'activi­ties in the San Francisco region."The North wall is decorated above the line of the doors with a large representation of the building of the Ark, the South wall with the landing of this same vessel. The treat­ment is entirely in harmony with the modified

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Spanish interior in both color and design. The stylo nay be said to follow that of the Fra Angelico, but is rather more luminous and high­er in key. The drawing is simple and effective.In each case the rhythms of the design are cen­tered on the structure of the Ark which occu­pies the middle of the panel. In the "Building of the Ark", figures of men are placed right and left of the vessel, in the "Landing of the Ark",groups of water birds form similar masses."

It was feared that after the government funds cover­ing C. W. A. were used up that this work would have to be left uncompleted. Fortunately however, under the W. P. A., more money was allocated to this Art Project and Dorothy Puccinelli and Helen Forbes have been able to complete this interesting and decorative piece of work. They are at present engaged on the task, and when finished it will be a monument to the hap­py co-operation of the Federal Government with the artistic talent of the community.

The U. S. Treasury Department has a program of dec­orating various post-offices and other federal buildings with murals. They have held extensive competitions for this work and Mrs. Puccinelli and Helen Forbes won that held for the post-office at Merced, California. They selected for their design historical events connected with the founding and dis­covery of Merced. It was the choice of this subject matter as well as the excellence of the drawing that won the competi­tion for the two artists. This work has not yet been started, but will be done after the project at the Mothers' House is completed.

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RAYMOND PUCCINELLIAs with several of San Francisco's artist families,

Raymond Puccinelli is an artist as well as his talented wife. In his case there is the interesting fact that it was not un­til after his marriage with Dorothy Wagner that Puccinelli developed his interest in art. He is one of San Francisco's most promising young sculptors and while his work has not yet attained much recognition,his steady improvement and de­velopment speak well for his future in his chosen field.

Writing in the San Francisco News of February 26,1936, Junius Cravens, the art critic, had the following tosay of Raymond Puccinelli's exhibit:

"Though Puccinelli is one of the youngest of the local sculptors, his work has developed and matured notably during the last two years.Today no trace of the amateur remains in what he creates."Puccinelli's favorite medium appears to be unglazed terra cotta and he has an unusually sensitive feeling for its peculiar texture.But he also works capably in wood, stone, and other sculptural media."A great many of Puccinelli's pieces are por­trait heads or busts, a subject which he han­dles remarkably well. His recent work, being neither modernistic nor academic, might best be described as being individualistic."

Raymond Puccinelli is at present studying at the Art Institute in New York. He is undoubtedly one of the com­ing sculptors, and richly merits the interest and encourage­ment being given him during his formative period.

3 0 1 1 DOROTHY & RAYMOND PUCCINELU75

DOROTHY WAGNER PUCCINELLI REPRESENTATIVE

WORKS

CHALK DRAWING:Study for Fresco

MURALS:Animals Noah's ArkMoraga and the Naming of Merced River

OILS:BethCamelCamel's Head Rose Gatherers

PASTELS:Chinese HeadPortraitPortrait

TEMPERAS:Bolivian Child Girl with Cross Winifred

PRIVATE COLLECTIONS:Mrs. Leon Liebes, San Francisco, California

Chinese Head Girl with Cross

Sam Bell Wakefield III, San Francisco, California

BethPortrait

David D. Bohonnon, Hillsboro, California Animals

3012 DOROTHY & RAYMOND PUCCtNELLI 73A

PERMANENT COLLECTIONS:San Francisco, California:San Francisco Museum of Art

San Francisco Art Association Collection Bolivian Child (tempera)California Palace of the Legion of Honor Portrait (pastel)

Mothers' House, Fleishhacker Zoo Noah's Ark (tempera mural)

Palace HotelRose Gatherers (oil)Merced, California:Post Office ,Morage and the Naming of Merced River (mural)

EXHIBITIONS:San Francisco, California:San Francisco Museum of ArtSan Francisco Art Association, 55th Annual, 1935

Self PortraitSan Francisco Art Association, 56th Annual, 1936

Winifred (tempera)California Palace of the Legion of Honor

San Francisco Society of Women Artists, 1932 k Study for a Fresco (chalk drawing)

One-man Show, 1933 Art CenterJoint Exhibition with Raymond Puccinelli, 1933

Los Angeles, California:Foundation of Western Art, 1935 Head of Negro Girl

Bothwell and Cooke One-man Show, 1936

AWARDS:San Francisco Society of Women Artists 7th Annual Exhibition, 1932First Prize, $100, for "Study for a Fresco"

CLUBS:Member:San Francisco Art AssociationSan Francisco Art CenterSan Francisco Society of Mural PaintersSan Francisco Society of Women ArtistsFoundation of Western.Ayt, Los Angeles

3 0 1 3 DOROTHY & RAYMOND PUCCINELLI 73B

DOROTHY WAGNER PUCCINELLI

BIBLIOGRAPHYSan Francisco News,, September 9, October 21. 1933— February 17, June 16. 1934— January 19, 1935 August 21, 19o5— August 24, 193December 25, 1935— February 26,

1933193451936

Argonaut, San Francisco, California September 22, 1933— June 22, 1934

Wasp-News Letter, San Francisco, California March 12, 1932

News Letter and the Wasp, San Francisco December 2, 1935— February 29, 1936

Peninsulan, The, Burlingame, California August 1936

Art Digest, December 1, 1932Christian Science Monitor, Boston, Massachusetts October 22, 1935

American Art Annual, Vol. 30, 1933

DOROTHY WAGNER PUCCINELLI CRAVATH IDENTIFICATION OF ORIGINAL SOURCES

NEWSGregory (California, San Francisco)

ARGONAUTULS

NEWSLETTER AND WASP ULS

NEWSLETTER AND WASP ULS

PENINSULANULS

ART DIGEST See ARTS MAGAZINE Arntzen and Rainwater Q98; ULS

CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITORGregory (Massachusetts, Boston)

AMERICAN ART ANNUAL See AMERICAN ART DIRECTORY Arntzen and Rainwater B1

3014 SUPPLEMENTARY B!BL!OGRAPHY

DOROTHY WAGNER PUCCINELLI CRAVATHb. December 19, 1901 San Antonio, Texas d. May 24, 1974 Berkeley, California

Death certificate examined.

OBITUARYSAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE May 27, 1974, p. 26

ORAL HISTORYTWO SAN FRANCISCO ARTISTS AND THEIR CONTEMPORARIES, 1920-1975. Berkeley: Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, 1977. 365 pp.

Typescript of an interview conducted in 1974 and 1975 by Ruth Teiser and Catherine Harroun with DWPC and Ruth Cravath.Covers family, education, and mural painting in San Francisco.

MONOGRAPHIC SOURCESART IN FEDERAL BUILDINGS

111.: [Merced Post Office]S n ip p e r [listed as Puccinelli]Thiel, Y.G. ARTISTS AND PEOPLE.NEWSPAPER SOURCESSAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLENovember 27, 1932, RP, p. 5, SF Society of Women Artists exh.,

ill.: [Fresco study]August 27, 1933, p. D3, Legion exh., bio. info.September 3, 1933, p. D3, dwgs. exh. at LegionSeptember 10, 1933, p. D3, dwgs. exh. at Legion, ill.: LITTLE LASS (dwg.)

October 15, 1933, p. D3, to exh. with her husband, Raymond Puccinelli, at Art Center

July 8, 1934, p. D3, Fleishhacker Memorial murals nearly finishedJune 12, 1938, TW, pp. 31-32, Fleishhacker Zoo, murals in Mother House, ill.

November 3, 1939, p. 17, SEA FORMS (mosaic), wins award at SF Society of Women Artists exh.

June 24, 1978, p. 39, Labaudt Gallery memorial exh. rev.( c o n t i n u e d )

3015 SUPPLEMENTARY BIBLIOGRAPHY

DOROTHY WAGNER PUCCINELLI CRAVATH BIOGRAPHICAL DIRECTORIES MallettMallett SUPPLEMENT Vollmer WWAA 1953 WWC 1942-1943

INDEXESART INDEX (Vols. 2, 4-7)Chicago Art Institute Park

ARCHIVAL SOURCESArchives of American Art CSL (1963: Berkeley)

301 !) DOROTHY & RAYMOND PUCCINELLI 73C

RAYMOND PUCCINELLI REPRESENTATIVE

WORKS

TERRA COTTA:Portrait of Kenneth Spencer Portrait of Bianca Bruni Portrait Head of a Woman MariaVeronica Pataky

EXHIBITIONS:San Francisco, California

San Francisco Museum of Art, 1935 Maria

Art Center, 730 Montgomery Street Bay Region Sculptors Show, 1932 Joint Exhibition with Dorothy Wagner Puccinelli, 1933

Exhibited,1935 One-man Show, 1936

BIBLIOGRAPHY

San Francisco News, October 21, 1933 January 19, 1935— August 24, 1935 August 3 1, 1935— February 1 5 , 1936 February 26, 1936

Wasp-News Letter, San Francisco, California March 12, 1932— February 29, 1936

RAYMOND W. PUCCINELLI IDENTIFICATION OF ORIGINAL SOURCES

NEWSGregory (California, San Francisco)

NEWSLETTER AND WASP ULS

3017 SUPPLEMENTARY BtBUOGRAPHY

RAYMOND W. PUCCINELLIb. May 5, 1904 San Francisco, California

ORAL HISTORYSCULPTOR: SAN FRANCISCO TO FLORENCE. Berkeley: Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, 1979. 76 pp.Typescript of an interview conducted 1974 by Ruth Teiser and Catherine Harroun. Covers work in Bay Area including WPA projects, teaching at Mills College and UC Berkeley, friendships with various artists, and life in Italy since 1955. Exhibition catalogues filed with interview, including one for a 1978 show at the Galerie Vercamer, Paris, that includes an extensive bibliography.

MONOGRAPHIC SOURCESCavallo, Luigi, and Carra, Massimo. RAIMONDO PUCCINELLI.Milan: Galleria 11 Castello, 1971. 62 pp; 52 leaves of b&w plates.

In Italian with English translation. Includes biographical information, critical discussion of RWP's work, and list of exhibitions.

Schnier, J. SCULPTURE IN MODERN AMERICA.111.: SLAVE; BEAR

SnipperThiel, Y.G. ARTISTS AND PEOPLE.NEWSPAPER SOURCESSAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLEOctober 15, 1933, p. D3, RWP exh. sc. and Dorothy Wagner Puccinelli

[Cravath] exh. dwgs. Art CenterFebruary 23, 1936, p. D6, sc. exh. Art Center, ill.: LUCHELJanuary 2, 1938, p. S3, ill.: [Three dancing studies]May 8, 1938, TW, p. 32, sc. exh. SFAASeptember 18, 1938, TW, p. 24, sc. exh. Oakland Art GalleryJanuary 22, 1939, TW, p. 32, Legion exh. rev.March 1, 1941, p. 14, letter to editor recommends RWP to do

University of California bear sculptureMarch 4, 1941, p. 14, letter to editor recommends RWP to do University of California bear sculpture

( c o n t i n u e d )

3018 SUPPLEMENTARY BIBLIOGRAPHY

RAYMOND W. PUCCINELLINEWSPAPER SOURCES (continued)SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLEMarch 23, 1941, TW, p. 24, SFMOA exh. rev.May 18, 1941, TW, p. 13, exh. Oakland Art Gallery sculpture annual August 10, 1941, TW, p. 17, circus theme sc. exh. City of Paris September 6, 1942, TW, p. 17, Oakland Art Gallery sc. exh.May 28, 1944, TW, p. 14, de Young exh. rev., ill.: BIANCA BRUNI March 4, 1945, TW, p. 8, Mills College Art Gallery exh. rev.November 5, 1950, TW, p. 27, Rotunda Gallery exh. rev.

EXHIBITION CATALOGUESDurham, North Carolina. Duke University Museum of Art.AN EXHIBITION OF THE SCULPTURE AND DRAWINGS OF RAIMONDO PUCCINELLI OF FLORENCE, ITALY. September 29-November 12, 1974. 47 pp.; b&w ills

"Raimondo Puccinelli: Biography and Evaluation of the Artist," by William S. Heckscher. Includes list of one man exhibitions and checklist.

Oakland, California. The Oakland Museum. 100 YEARS OF CALIFORNIA SCULPTURE. August 7-October 17, 1982. 48 pp.; b&w ills.

Includes an historical survey of "California Sculpture before 1940" by Harvey L. Jones and a biography.111.: EARTH PRAYER NO. 2, 1944

BIOGRAPHICAL DIRECTORIESMallett SUPPLEMENT Vollmer WWAA 1984 WWC 1942-1943

INDEXESART INDEX (Vols. 3-7, 9, 19) Chicago Art Institute Clapp

BIBLIOGRAPHYKarpel

ARCHIVAL SOURCESArchives of American Art CSL (1936: San Francisco)

Moure, Nancy Dustin Wall, and Moure, Phyllis. ARTISTS' CLUBS AND EXHIBITIONS IN LOS ANGELES BEFORE 1930. Los Angeles: Privately printed, 1975.Museum of Modern Art