Renzo Fenci
{{Short description|Italian-American artist and educator (1914–1999)}}
{{use dmy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Renzo Fenci
| alt = Renzo Fenci
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1914|11|18}}
| birth_place = Florence, Italy
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1999|12|31|1914|11|18}}
| death_place = Los Angeles, California, U.S.
| alma_mater = Royal Institute of Art,
Instituto d'Arte Firenze
}}
Renzo G. Fenci (18 November 1914 – 11 December 1999) was an Italian-American artist and arts educator, best known for his bronze sculpture. He worked in 1942 as a New Deal artist with the United States Treasury Department's Section of Painting and Sculpture.
Biography
Fenci was born in Florence, Italy, on 18 November 1914.{{Cite book|title=Artists in California, 1786-1940|last=Hughes|first=Edan Milton|publisher=|year=1989|isbn=978-0961611217|location=|pages=}} At a young age, he went to study art at the Royal Institute of Art. He received a master's degree in 1932 from Instituto d'Arte Firenze (Art Institute of Florence) and studied with sculptors Libero Andriotti and Bruno Innocenti.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9fs4AQAAMAAJ&dq|title=Register - University of California, Volume 1|last=|first=|publisher=University of California Press|year=1951|isbn=|volume=1|location=|pages=11|via=Google Books}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.artprice.com/artist/104721/renzo-fenci/biography|title=Renzo FENCI (1914-?)|last=|first=|date=|website=Artprice.com|language=en-EN|access-date=2019-08-04}}
He emigrated to New York City around 1937 or 1938, due to the change in politics in Europe and the rise of fascism.{{Cite web|url=http://www.charmeasttexas.com/features/piero-fenci/article_fbac909a-5ab6-11e7-8248-73b83849ab3d.html|title=Piero Fenci|last=Stevens|first=Stephanie|date=2017|website=Charm East Texas|language=en|access-date=2019-08-04}} Fenci lived in New York City, New York and Madison, Wisconsin, before settling down in Pullman, Washington, in order to teach fine art at Washington State College.
He was commissioned in 1942 by the United States Treasury Department's Section of Painting and Sculpture (later known as The Section of Fine Arts) to create art.{{Cite web|url=http://www.wpamurals.com/easleysc.htm|title=Easley, SC New Deal Art|last=|first=|date=|website=WPA Murals|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-03}} These commissions were for the creation of a series of terra-cotta bas reliefs for a post office in Easley, South Carolina, entitled “Cultivation of Corn”. Originally he planned to create six bas-relief panels, but the Section would only pay for three panels and there was much difficulty in the completion of the commission.
Fenci moved to Santa Barbara, California. From 1947 to 1954, he taught at Santa Barbara College (now called University of California, Santa Barbara).{{Cite web|url=http://www.obitcentral.com/obitsearch/obits/ca/ca-santabarbara46.htm|title=Santa Barbara County, California Obituaries|last=|first=|date=|website=obitcentral.com|publisher=Ursus Partners, LLC|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040822171339/http://www.obitcentral.com/obitsearch/obits/ca/ca-santabarbara46.htm|url-status=usurped|archive-date=August 22, 2004|access-date=2019-08-04}} From 1955 until 1977, he was the head of the sculpture department at Otis Art Institute (now named Otis College of Art and Design).{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.com/obits/2016/06/30/stephanie-burkard/|title=Obituary, Stephanie Foster Burkard|last=|first=|date=2016-06-30|website=The Santa Barbara Independent|language=en-US|access-date=2019-08-03}}
Fenci has worked in the many public art museum collections including at the Uffizi museum,{{Cite web|url=http://catalogo.uffizi.it/it/29/ricerca/detailiccd/1514015/|title=Ricerca - Schede di catalogo|website=catalogo.uffizi.it|access-date=2019-08-04}} and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.{{Cite web|url=http://collections.si.edu/search/results.htm?q=%22Fenci%2C+Renzo+1914-%22|title="Fenci, Renzo 1914-"|last=|first=|date=|website=Smithsonian Institution|access-date=}}
Fenci died at the age of 85 in Los Angeles, California, on 11 December 1999.
Personal life
See also
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{Find a Grave|id=87087455|name=Renzo Fenci}}
- [http://collections.si.edu/search/detail/edanmdm:AAADCD_item_15279?q=%22Fenci%2C+Renzo+1914-%22&record=1&hlterm=%26quot%3BFenci%2C%2BRenzo%2B1914-%26quot%3B Interview with Renzo Fenci, the Dialogues in art television series (episode 10)]
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Category:Artists from Florence
Category:Artists from Los Angeles
Category:Italian emigrants to the United States