Victor Arnautoff and the Politics of Art

The SFSU Labor Archives will have an exhibit on Victor Arnautoff and the Politics of Art starting on September 13, 2017

SFSU September 2017 Exhibition "Victor Arnautoff and the Politics of Art"

The Richmond Museum of History is proud to have rediscovered the historic mural Richmond Industrial City (1941) painted by famed artist Victor Arnautoff. Currently, the Museum is raising funds to restore the painting and display it once again in the City of Richmond for the benefit of the public.

In the meantime, we're delighted that a full-scale reproduction of the mural will be displayed at the Labor Archives at San Francisco State University as part of the forthcoming exhibitionVictor Arnautoff and the Politics of Art on view September 13 - December 12, 2017. Learn more about the upcoming exhibit here: https://goo.gl/hEJ5Qq

Victor Arnautoff and the Politics of Art


September 13-December 12, 2017
Labor Archives and Research Center San Francisco State University
J. Paul Leonard Library, Special Collections Gallery
1630 Holloway Ave., 4th Floor, Room LIB 462
Gallery Hours: Monday-Friday, 1-5 pm or by appointment

Exhibition Opening & Reception: Wednesday, September 13th, 5-7 pm
Reception: 5-6 pm, J. Paul Leonard Library, Faculty Commons, Room LIB 286
Lecture: Robert Cherny, Professor of History Emeritus, 6-7 pm, Special Collections Gallery, LIB 460

Victor Arnautoff (1896-1979) was a leading artist in San Francisco in the 1930s, whose best known work is the mural "City Life" located at Coit Tower. Victor Arnautoff and The Politics of Art looks at Arnautoff's "art for the people" – works executed in an easily reproduced format and accessible to the general public that were intended to move and stimulate thinking. Like his mentor, Diego Rivera (1886-1957), Arnautoff saw art as "a weapon of ideas in the struggle for a new society." This exhibition includes a full scale reproduction of his recently rediscovered New Deal-era mural for the Richmond Post Office and a selection of works on paper spanning his entire career addressing themes of labor and social justice.

This exhibition and supporting programming was organized by The Labor Archives & Research Center at San Francisco State University
(415) 405-5571 | larc [at] sfsu.edu | http://library.sfsu.edu/larc
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Labor-Archives-and-Research-Center-San-Francisco-State-University/106016096086433
Melinda McCrary, Executive Director
Richmond Museum of History
510-235-7387
PO BOX 1267 Richmond, CA 94802

Victor Arnautoff: San Francisco's Master Muralist of the 1930’s With Author Robert Cherny
https://youtu.be/p5aYXYqcDNg

Victor Arnautoff: San Francisco's Master Muralist of the 1930's is the title of a book written by SFSU Professor Robert Cherny. Victor Arnautoff worked as muralist Diego Rivera's assistant in Mexico City and then came back to San Francisco where he worked on important murals and paintings as well as graphics for the longshore workers in 1934. He did some of the murals at Coit Tower where he was artistic director of the project. Between 1931 and 1942, Victor Arnautoff was arguably San Francisco’s leading artist of pubic murals. His murals may still be seen today at the former Palo Alto Health Clinic, Coit Tower, the former Protestant chapel at the Presidio of San Francisco, George Washington High School, the San Francisco Art Institute, and at three post offices including South San Francisco. From his service as a cavalry officer during the Russian Civil War, his politics moved left, joining the Communist Party in 1938. This lecture surveys Arnautoff’s career, from his birth in Russia in 1896 to his death in the Soviet Union in 1979, focusing on his art and politics during his years in San Francisco from 1931 to 1963. He also taught painting at the California Labor School and at Stanford. During the 1950's hounded during the McCarthy period and returned to the Soviet Union where he continued to do his work.

This presentation by professor Robert Cherny was made on July 11, 2017 in San Francisco and was sponsored by SF Musuem and Historical Society http://sfhistory.org and is a part of LaborFest.net

Production of Labor Video Project
http://www.laborvideo.org