Peter Schifrin (born January 5, 1958) is an American Olympic epee fencer and sculptor.

Early and personal life

Schifrin was born in Los Angeles, California, lived in

Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa ( Spanish for " Saint Rose") is a city and the county seat of Sonoma County, in the North Bay region of the Bay Area in California. Its estimated 2019 population was 178,127. It is the largest city in California's Wine Country and ...

, and is Jewish. His father was a professional artist. After attending San Jose State University, where he earned a BA as a fine arts major, he earned a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) from

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

Fencing career

Schifrin began fencing at age 13. While in high school he won the Junior National Epee Championship in both 1976 and 1977. He attended and fenced for

San Jose State University San José State University (San Jose State or SJSU) is a public university in San Jose, California. Established in 1857, SJSU is the oldest public university on the West Coast and the founding campus of the California State University (CSU) sy ...

on a fencing scholarship from 1979 through 1982. There, Schifrin was a four-time All-American, and had a 266-35 win-loss record. He won the 1982

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Epee National Championship—thereby becoming the university's first and only NCAA champion in men's fencing. Schifrin represented the United States at the

1979 Pan American Games The 1979 Pan American Games (Spanish: ''Juegos Panamericanos de 1979''), officially the VIII Pan American Games were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization, and were held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from July 1 to July 15 ...

team, winning a gold medal, and competed at the

1979 Summer Universiade The 1979 Summer Universiade, also known as the X Summer Universiade, took place in Mexico City, Mexico. Sports * * * * * * * * * * Medal table {{Universiade 1979 U U U Multi-sport events in Mexico Sports competitions in Mex ...

and the

1981 Summer Universiade The 1981 Summer Universiade, also known as the XI Summer Universiade, took place in Bucharest, Romania. The events were watched by 200,000 spectators. Sports * * * * * * * * * * Medal table External links Universiada 81-TVR {{Univer ...

. He won a silver medal in epee at the

1981 Maccabiah Games The 11th Maccabiah Games brought 3,450 athletes to Israel from 35 nations. The Opening Ceremony was held on July 7, 1981, before a crowd of 53,000 and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin in Ramat Gan Stadium, with 3,500 Jewish athletes paradin ...

. He competed in the team

épée The ( or , ), sometimes spelled epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contain ...

event at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

. Schifrin was inducted into the San Jose State University Sports Hall of Fame, in the Class of 2005.

Art career

Schifrin became a poet and an artist, trained in figurative and portrait sculpture, and began making textured works in both metal and clay. He has had multiple commissioned works in California: he designed and executed a bronze firefighter in San Ramon, a bronze "Wounded Man" for San Mateo's Performing Arts Center, and a set of bronze coyotes for downtown San Jose. Schifrin also created "Wings," a series of three sculptures installed on Martha's Vineyard. Schifrin and another sculptor, David Duskin, created "J-Line," which was commissioned by another fencing Olympian, Stephen Trevor, a

private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a t ...

manager. He has works on display with the

Art of the Olympians Art of the Olympians (AOTO) is an organization and program of Olympian and Paralympian artists that promotes the Olympic ideals of values, integrity, character, respect, honor, and work ethic through exhibitions and educational programs. It puts ...

. Schifrin also teaches as an instructor at the

Academy of Art University The Academy of Art University (AAU or ART U), formerly Academy of Art College and Richard Stephens Academy of Art, is a private for-profit art school in San Francisco, California. It was founded as the Academy of Advertising Art by Richard S. ...

in San Francisco. He was voted into the

National Sculpture Society Founded in 1893, the National Sculpture Society (NSS) was the first organization of professional sculptors formed in the United States. The purpose of the organization was to promote the welfare of American sculptors, although its founding members ...

in 2011.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Schifrin, Peter 1958 births Living people American male épée fencers Olympic fencers of the United States Fencers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Los Angeles Boston University College of Fine Arts alumni San Jose State University alumni Pan American Games medalists in fencing Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Jewish American sportspeople Jewish male épée fencers American male sculptors Jewish sculptors National Sculpture Society members Fencers at the 1979 Pan American Games 21st-century American Jews Medalists at the 1979 Pan American Games