José Moya del Piño (1891–1969) was a Spanish-born American painter, muralist and educator. He associated with the Post-impressionists of Spain and the Depression-era muralists in the San Francisco Bay Area. He taught classes at the San Francisco Art Students League,

San Francisco Art Institute San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a private college of contemporary art in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1871, SFAI was one of the oldest art schools in the United States and the oldest west of the Mississippi River. Approximately ...

and the

College of Marin The College of Marin is a public community college in Marin County, California, with two campuses, one in Kentfield, and the second in Novato. It is the only institution operated by the Marin Community College District. College of Marin has been ...

Early life and education

José Moya del Pino was born in 1891 in

Priego de Cordoba Priego is a municipality located in the Cuenca Province, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain. According to the census 2004 (INE), the municipality has a population of 1,052 inhabitants. Notable people * Luis Ocaña Jesús Luis Ocaña Pernía (; 9 ...

, Spain. He studied art at the

Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (RABASF; ), located on the Calle de Alcalá in the heart of Madrid, currently functions as a museum and gallery. A public law corporation, it is integrated together with other Spanish royal acad ...

in Madrid from 1908 until 1911. He had won the

Prix de Rome The Prix de Rome () or Grand Prix de Rome was a French scholarship for arts students, initially for painters and sculptors, that was established in 1663 during the reign of Louis XIV of France. Winners were awarded a bursary that allowed them t ...

scholarship, but decided to go to Paris instead. He studied in 1911 at the Académie Colarossi.

Career

After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

broke out (around 1916), he returned to Spain. He made numerous portraits for the Spanish nobility and bourgeoisie and by 1925,

King Alfonso XIII Alfonso XIII (17 May 1886 – 28 February 1941), also known as El Africano or the African, was King of Spain from 17 May 1886 to 14 April 1931, when the Second Spanish Republic was proclaimed. He was a monarch from birth as his father, Alf ...

of Spain had appointed Moya director of the "Spanish artistic mission" to foster appreciation of Spanish art and culture in America. Moya del Pino and two other distinguished members of the Spanish Court brought over 50 paintings for exhibitions in Philadelphia, New York, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. The King had given Moya del Pino the commission to copy all of the paintings of Velázquez hanging in the Prado Museum in Madrid. Among the paintings collected for exhibition were the 41Velázquez reproductions. Moya del Pino had labored for four years on this project: measuring, studying, grinding pigments, and mixing colors according to 17th Century recipes in order to duplicate the original canvases as exactly as possible. In subsequent years, when civil war in Spain threatened the original masterpieces of Velázquez, Moya del Pino's work gained in importance. He moved to San Francisco during the late 1920s and taught at the San Francisco Art Students League (a cooperative space featuring an art gallery, art classes, and art supply store founded by fellow artist Ray Strong), The

California School of Fine Arts San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a private college of contemporary art in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1871, SFAI was one of the oldest art schools in the United States and the oldest west of the Mississippi River. Approximately ...

(now called the San Francisco Art Institute; from 1937 until 1940) and the

(in the 1950s and early 1960s). He was also involved with the founding of the Marin Art and Garden Center in

Ross Ross or ROSS may refer to: People * Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan * Ross (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning * Earl of Ross, a peerage of Scotland Places * RoSS, the Republic of Sou ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, and served as the first vice president. In 1929, he married Helen Pauline Horst, daughter of Emil Clemens Horst in San Francisco. After marriage together they lived at 3820 Washington Street in

Presidio Heights San Francisco, in the US state of California, has both major, well-known neighborhoods and districts as well as smaller, specific subsections and developments. While there is considerable fluidity among the sources, one guidebook identifies five m ...

, San Francisco. He was known for his portraiture but he also painted murals for post offices around the Bay Area (1936–1941) as well as contributing a mural in the lobby of

Coit Tower Coit Tower is a tower in the Telegraph Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, California, offering panoramic views over the city and the bay. The tower, in the city's Pioneer Park, was built between 1932 and 1933 using Lillie Hitchcock Coit's beq ...

as part of the

Public Works of Art Project The Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) was a New Deal program designed to employ artists that operated from 1933 to 1934. The program was headed by Edward Bruce, under the United States Treasury Department with funding from the Civil Works Admin ...

in 1934. In 1933, Moya del Pino painted murals and managed the lavish interior design for the rathskeller (a basement tasting room) at the Aztec Brewing Company in San Diego. In November 1935, Moya del Pino painted three murals in the boardroom at Acme Brewing Company at 762 Fulton Street, San Francisco. The Acme Brewing Company building was demolished in 1990, however the Moya del Pino murals were moved and currently live at the Logan Heights Library in San Diego. He had stopped painting in 1961, due to a long-term illness.

Death and legacy

Moya del Pino died in Ross, California, on March 7, 1969, and was buried at Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery in

San Rafael, California San Rafael ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "Raphael (archangel), St. Raphael", ) is a city and the county seat of Marin County, California, Marin County, California, United States. The city is located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), ...

. He was survived by two daughters and one son, and his wife Helen. The Marin Art and Garden Center's Octagon House contains the Jose Moya del Pino library.

References

External links

*
Oral history interview with José Moya del Pino, from September 10, 1964 (from Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moya del Pino, Jose American muralists 1891 births 1969 deaths San Francisco Art Institute faculty College of Marin faculty 20th-century American painters American male painters Académie Colarossi alumni 20th-century American male artists Spanish emigrants to the United States Public Works of Art Project artists Section of Painting and Sculpture artists

Early life and education

Career

Death and legacy

See also

References

External links