Dorothy Wagner Puccinelli

Dorothy Wagner Puccinelli, also known as Dorothy Puccinelli Cravath (December 19, 1901 – May 24, 1974),[1] was a New Deal-era artist and muralist. She was based in San Francisco, California.

Dorothy W. Puccinelli
Young woman in a kerchief reaches up to paint a detail of an antelope on a wall
Born
Dorothy Wagner

(1901-12-19)December 19, 1901
San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
DiedMay 24, 1974(1974-05-24) (aged 72)
Berkeley, California, U.S.
NationalityAmerican
Other namesDorothy Puccinelli Cravath
Alma materCalifornia School of Fine Arts, Rudolph Schaeffer School of Design
Years active1919–c.1940
StyleWPA-era murals and paintings
Spouses
  • Raymond Puccinelli
  • Austin Cravath
Children1

Biography

Born as Dorothy Wagner on December 19, 1901, in San Antonio, Texas, at age five her family moved and settling in Half Moon Bay, California.[2] In 1919, she enrolled at the California School of Fine Arts (now known as San Francisco Art Institute) and then continued in 1925 at the Rudolph Schaeffer School of Design in San Francisco to studied with Beniamino Bufano.[2][3]

Her first marriage was to artist Raymond Puccinelli which ended in divorce. In 1941, Dorothy married Austin Cravath (brother of artist Ruth Cravath) and together they had a daughter named Anne.[2][4]

In 1937, Puccinelli created a 6′ x 8′ tempera-on-canvas mural called Vacheros at the post office in Merced, California.[5][6] The mural was funded by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts.[5]

In 1939, Puccinelli worked with artist, Helen Katharine Forbes to paint the interior four panel murals of the Mother's Building at the San Francisco Zoo.[7][8] The four murals depict a Noah's Ark-theme with animals and were funded by Federal Art Project (FAP) and Works Progress Administration (WPA).[7][9] From 1978 until 2002, the Mother's Building served as a gift shop for the zoo, the mural is now in need of restoration and the room is only used for special events.[10]

In 1960 and 1975, Puccinelli and Emmy Lou Packard restored murals, including Coit Tower.[11]

References
  1. "Dorothy W. PUCCINELLI (1901–1974)". California Art Research Archive. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  2. "Dorothy Puccinelli". AskArt. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  3. Dorothy Wagner Puccinelli and Raymond Puccinelli (PDF). 1937.
  4. Two San Francisco Artists and Their Contemporaries, 1920–1975 (PDF). Berkeley, CA: University of California, Berkeley & The Bancroft Library. 1977.
  5. "Post Office: Puccinelli Mural". Living New Deal. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  6. "California New Deal Art". WPAmurals.com. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  7. "San Francisco Zoo, Mother's House Murals". Living New Deal. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  8. "The Art Deco Preservation Awards". Art Deco Society. Archived from the original on 2017-01-10. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  9. "Senate's stimulus bill is nothing like Roosevelt's New Deal". McClatchy DC. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  10. "Event: Save the SF Zoo's Mother's Building". Living New Deal. Retrieved 2016-03-14.
  11. Community Murals. San Francisco International Community Muralists' Magazine. Community Muralists' Network. 1983. p. 9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)


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