Santos Ision Jackson Zingale (1908–1999) was an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
artist known for his
regionalist and
social realist
Social realism is the term used for work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers and filmmakers that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structure ...
paintings.
Biography
Santos Zingale was born in
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
,
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
in 1908 to
Sicilian immigrant parents.
He attended
Lincoln High School in Milwaukee, as well as
Milwaukee State Teacher's College.
In the 1930s, he shared studio space with
Alfred Sessler
Alfred A. Sessler (1909–1963) was an American artist known for his murals for the Works Progress Administration (WPA), his printmaking, and his career as a teacher.
Biography
Sessler was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,on January 14, 1909. He a ...
in the Plankinton Building in Milwaukee. Between 1931 and 1934 he taught art at Milwaukee County Day School and the Young Pioneers School.
In 1937, Zingale was an officer of the
Wisconsin Artists Federation as well as a member of
Wisconsin Painters and Sculptors.
During the
Depression, he participated in arts projects that were part of the
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...
, including 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 ...
and the
Federal Art Project
The Federal Art Project (1935–1943) was a New Deal program to fund the visual arts in the United States. Under national director Holger Cahill, it was one of five Federal Project Number One projects sponsored by the Works Progress Administrati ...
.
At this time he notably created murals for the
Sturgeon Bay Post Office
The Sturgeon Bay Post Office, located at 359 Louisiana Ave., is the main post office in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, United States. The post office was built in 1937 and designed by Louis A. Simon in the Moderne style. The building is constructed i ...
and the
Henry Mitchell High School in
Racine
Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditio ...
, Wisconsin.
In 1943, he received his Masters of Education from the
University of Wisconsin-Madison
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
under the advisement of painter
John Stewart Curry.
From 1944 to 1946, Zingale served in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
aboard the where he is also known to have produced several sketches of his fellow service members in their daily life.
Following his time in the Navy, he became a professor of art at the University of Wisconsin-Madison until his retirement in 1978.
Zingale died in
Madison Madison may refer to:
People
* Madison (name), a given name and a surname
* James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States
Place names
* Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...
, Wisconsin in 1999.
Themes and style
Santos Zingale was known for depicting rural and urban social landscapes of the 20th century. Zingale was concerned with the destruction of Milwaukee’s old neighborhoods, creating emotionally captivating images documenting the people, streets and city of his family neighborhood.
His work in the 1930s was political, looking at social themes from conditions of
African Americans
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
to people fleeing the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
.
Zingale was labeled as a "radical artist" by the press and in 1935 he wrote, "Art must help the development of human consciousness and improve the social order".
Zingale’s major works are representational, though arguably not realist. His early scenes of urban realism used strong contrast of light and dark. Later he produced colorful,
surrealist
Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...
paintings that were part fact and part fantasy. Color, design and painted surfaces were major concerns in his practice.
Notable collections
*
Milwaukee Art Museum
The Milwaukee Art Museum (MAM) is an art museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Its collection contains nearly 25,000 works of art.
Location and Visit
Located on the lakefront of Lake Michigan, the Milwaukee Art Museum is one of the largest art museu ...
*
Museum of Wisconsin Art
The Museum of Wisconsin Art (formerly the West Bend Art Museum) is a museum that collects and exhibits contemporary and historical art from the state of Wisconsin. Its collections include rotating historical and contemporary exhibitions and educati ...
*
Wisconsin Veterans Museum
The Wisconsin Veterans Museum, located on Capitol Square in Madison, Wisconsin, United States, is dedicated to telling the stories of the veterans of the state of Wisconsin.
The museum is composed of two galleries that chronicle the history of Wis ...
*
Racine Art Museum
The Racine Art Museum (RAM) and RAM's Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts are located in Racine, Wisconsin, U.S. The museum holds the largest and most significant contemporary craft collection in North America, with more than 9,500 objects fro ...
*
Chazen Museum of Art
The Chazen Museum of Art is an art museum located at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in Madison, Wisconsin. The Chazen Museum of Art is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums.
History
Until 2005, the Museum was known regularly as th ...
*
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
*
Marquette University
Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...
References
Further reading
* Lewis Historical Publishing Co. ''Wisconsin : Stability, Progress, Beauty.'' 1946.
* University of Wisconsin. University Extension Division. ''Arts in Society.'', 1958.
* Clark, Laurie Beth, Hove, Arthur, and Elvehjem Art Center. ''University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Art, Sesquicentennial Celebration Faculty Exhibition : 30 January through 21 March 1999, Elvehjem Museum of Art.'' 1999.
* Elvehjem Museum of Art. ''University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Art Faculty Exhibition: University of Wisconsin-Madison, December 8, 1990-January 20, 1991'', 1990.
* Charles Allis Art Museum. ''Self Portraits : Wisconsin Artists.'' 1997.
* West Bend Art Museum, and Museum of Wisconsin Art. ''Wisconsin Painters & Sculptors, Wisconsin Artists in All Media : Centennial Exhibition / West Bend Art Museum.'' Wisconsin Art History. 2000.
* West Bend Art Museum. ''Foundations of Art in Wisconsin : A Wisconsin Sesquicentennial Exhibition in Honor of the State's Founding Cultural Figures and Organizations.'' Wisconsin Art History. 1998.
* West Bend Art Museum. ''Collecting the Art of Wisconsin : The Early Years.'' 1996.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zingale, Santos
1908 births
1999 deaths
Artists from Milwaukee
Military personnel from Milwaukee
University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee alumni
University of Wisconsin–Madison faculty
Federal Art Project artists
American male painters
20th-century American painters
20th-century American male artists
United States Navy personnel of World War II
Public Works of Art Project artists