Joseph Anthony Mugnaini (1912-1992)

California School

Group of Nine One of a Kind Original Drawings

Size:  Various / Unframed

Media includes:  Pen & ink, charcoal, watercolor and gouache on paper

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Joseph Mugnaini was born in Tuscany, Italy, and shortly after his birth, his family emigrated to the United States where they settled in Riverside, California.  Eleven years later they moved to Los Angeles, and in 1941, Mugnaini became a naturalized citizen.

     He attended the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles from 1940 to 1942, before serving in the US Army during World War II.  After his discharge, he returned to Otis Institute and joined the faculty, where he eventually became Head of the Drawing Department until his retirement in 1976.

     Mugnaini was the author of five books on art techniques and materials, and well known as an illustrator of many books.  His work is represented in collections across the country, including those of the Smithsonian Institution and Library of Congress.  He exhibited widely and been the recipient of many awards.  He died in

Los Angeles in 1992.

     Joseph was once interviewed by John C. Tibbetts, film critic, historian, author and painter.  This is how he described the essence of his meeting with Mugnaini:

                   I will never forget the bristling energy and vitality of Joseph Mugnaini.  

     I can still see him, scowling amiably at me from beneath his hat brim,

     bursting into hearty laughter as he talked.  His hands were always in motion,

     and after finding some note paper in my hotel room, he happily scrawled away,

     the restless lines dashing and skittering across the surface in quick, rapier-like

     jabs and thrusts.  He seemed to be conducting with the pen, as an orchestra

     leader would gesture and cajole sounds from his players.  His dynamic lines

     seemed to gather themselves of their own accord into forms which coalesced

     into living images.

Price: $2500.

for group of nine