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Gottardo Piazzoni
(1872-1945)
Gottardo Piazzoni was born in Intragna, Switzerland on April 14, 1872. At age 14 Piazzoni came to California to join his father who had established a dairy farm in Carmel Valley on an old Spanish land grant. Art studies began at the San Francisco School of Design under Mathews and Yelland (1891-93) and continued in Paris for three years at Academie Julian and Ecole des Beaux-Arts. While in Paris, he lived with Douglas Tilden and Granville Redmond who were to remain lifelong friends. After returning to San Francisco, he established the Piazzoni Atelier d'Art at 609 Sacramento Street. He and his family lived across the bay in Belvedere from 1915-25 and during this period he shared a studio in San Francisco with Arthur Putnam who was a great inspiration to him. Artistically he was a liberal and his greatest love was murals. Highly esteemed by his contemporaries, about a dozen of San Francisco's prominent artists convinced the board of directors that Piazzoni be the one to paint 14 large murals for the grand staircase in the San Francisco Main Public Library. He taught at the CSFA from 1919-35, and then served on the SFMA Advisory Board. Piazzoni died at his ranch in Carmel Valley on August 1, 1945.
Member:
SFAA; California Society of Etchers (cofounder); Beaux Arts Club; Bohemian Club; San Francisco of Mural Painters; Chicago Society of Etchers.
Exhibited: SFAA annuals, 1898-1935; Lousiana Purchase Expo, St. Louis, 1904; Int'l Expo, Rome, 1906; Paris Salon, 1907; CGA, 1913; Paul Elder Galleries, San Francisco, 1914 (solo); PPIE, 1915; Bohemian Club, 1923 (solo); California Society of Etchers, Stanford University, 1928; Adams-Danysh Gallery, San Francisco, 1934 (solo); SFMA Inaugural, 1935; GGIE, 1939; Labaudt Gallery, San Francisco, 1946 (solo); CHS, 1959 (solo).
Awards: Gold medal, School of Design, 1893; honorable mention, Lousiana Purchase Expo, St. Louis, 1904; Walters prize, SFAA, 1919, gold medal, 1924, Bremer prize, 1927; purchase prize, Arizona State Fair, 1924; Bailey prize, SanDiego FA Gallery 1927.
Works Held: CHS; Oakland Museum; CPLH; de Young Museum; Phoenix Municipal Gallery; Miils College, Oakland; Burlingame (CA) Country Club (murals); SFMA
Source:
Hughes, Edan M. Artists In California 1786-1940. 3rd ed. Vol. 1. Sacramento: Crocker, Art Museum, 2002. N. pag. 2 vols. Print.
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