Robert Pearson McChesney (1913–2008) was a California post-war artist,

abstract expressionist Abstract expressionism is a post–World War II art movement in American painting, developed in New York City in the 1940s. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve international influence and put New York at the center of the ...

painter, assemblage artist,

printmaker Printmaking is the process of creating work of art, artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand proce ...

, sculptor and teacher. He is considered one of the "progenitors of Bay Area abstract expressionism".

Life

He grew up in Marshall, Missouri. From 1933 to 1934 he studied at Washington University School of Fine Arts in St. Louis, and in 1936 at the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles. He worked the Federal Art Project in San Francisco, and on murals for the Golden Gate International Exposition. At the exposition, McChesney worked with a team of around 10 people, on a mural series designed and directed by artist,

Herman Volz Herman Roderick Volz (1904–1990) was a Swiss-American painter, muralist, lithographer, set designer, decorative artist and ceramist. He was politically active, vocal and often made social statements through his imagery and he was especially take ...

. It consisted of two large mural on two sides of a large federal building called ''The Conquest of the West'', and on one side of the building it was''By Land''and the other was''By Sea''. This particular mural was the world's largest at the time. Other artists that worked on this multi-year mural project included artist helping including: Jose Ramis, John Saccaro, John Thomas Hayes (Tom Hayes), Carlton Williams, Peter Lowe, Percy Freer, Alden Clark and Ernest Lenshaw. He was a merchant marine seaman, during World War II. He taught at California State University, Hayward (1958–1962), the California Labor School as well as the California School of Fine Arts. He married Frances (a former artist figure model) in 1937; they later divorced. His second marriage was to

Mary Fuller Mary Claire Fuller (October 5, 1888 – December 9, 1973) was an American actress active in both stage and silent films. She also was a screenwriter and had several films produced. An early major star, by 1917 she could no longer gain roles ...

, an artist and author, in December 1949. They lived in the North Bay, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Settling down in the

Sonoma Mountain Sonoma Mountain is a prominent landform within the Sonoma Mountains of southern Sonoma County, California. At an elevation of , Sonoma Mountain offers expansive views of the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Sonoma Valley to the east. In fact, ...

area in Petaluma, California. McChesney died in 2008.

References

External links

*http://calabigallery.com/robert-mcchesney/
AskArt profile for Robert McChesney

Article on Robert McChesney from the Sonoma County Independent Newspaper, July 6–12, 2000
1913 births 2008 deaths California State University, East Bay faculty People of the New Deal arts projects Works Progress Administration workers People from Marshall, Missouri Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts alumni Otis College of Art and Design alumni American muralists Painters from California San Francisco Art Institute faculty United States Merchant Mariners of World War II 20th-century American painters American male painters {{US-artist-stub