BELLE BARANCEANU (1902-1988)

Muralist, painter, printmaker. Born in Chicago, IL on July 17, 1902.

Baranceanu (née Goldschlager) studied at the Minneapolis School of Art and AIC under Anthony Angarola. She was engaged to Angarola until his untimely death in 1929. Active in Chicago during the 1920s as a teacher and exhibitor, she moved to southern California in 1933 and soon became involved with the various federal art programs. She produced a number of murals as well as other government sponsored artwork including a large mural for the California-Pacific International Exposition where she received the silver medal. During the 1940s she continued to do mural and portrait work for private clients and began teaching at the San Diego School of Arts and Crafts and the Francis Parker School. In 1950 she was elected president of the San Diego Art Guild. Late in her career she began to experiment with abstractions based on lights reflecting off the San Diego Bay at night

Member: Chicago Society of Artists; San Diego Art Guild (pres., 1950); La Jolla Art Center.

Exh: AIC, 1926, 1928, 1931 (Carr prize); Painters & Sculptors of LA, LACMA, 1927, 1928; Kansas City Art Inst., 1927; Calif.-Pacific Intl Expo (San Diego), 1935 (silver medal); GGIE, 1939; San Diego Art Guild, 1940 (1st prize; SFMA, 1941; Carnegie Inst., 1943; Library of Congress, 1943, 1945, 1946; NAD, 1943-46; Denver Museum, 1945; San Diego Co. Administration Bldg, 1980 and UC San Diego, 1985 (retrospectives).

Elysian Park

Lithograph,16 x 19-1/2", pencil signed, titled and numbered 18-50, circa 1928. Framed.

Ref: Belle Baranceanu: A Retrospective, catalog #28.

One of Baranceanu's earliest California works, "Elysian Park" was executed while the artist lived with her uncle in Los Angeles."Elysian Park" is in the collection of the San Diego Museum of Art and was exhibited in "Belle Baranceanu: The Artist at Work" at the San Diego Historical Society

Skunk

Linoleum block print,15 x 11-1/4", pencil signed, titled and inscribed 'proof''. 1936. Framed.

Ref: Belle Baranceanu: A Retrospective, catalog #52.

One of Baranceanu's best known WPA prints, "Skunk" is in the collection of the San Diego Museum of Art and was featured in their exhibition "A Good Impression: A Century of Printmaking in San Diego"; "Skunk" was also exhibited in "Belle Baranceanu: The Artist at Work" at the San Diego Historical Society

Bobcat

Linoleum block print, 15 x 11-1/4", pencil signed, titled and numbered 82/100, circa 1937. Framed.

Ref: Belle Baranceanu: A Retrospective, catalog #53.

"Bobcat" was featured in the exhibition "Belle Baranceanu: The Artist at Work" at the San Diego Historical Society and is in the collection of the James S. Copley Library in La Jolla.