1903-1994
Theme/Style – Modernism, California Scene, Plein Air, figurative art, landscapes
Media – Oils, murals
Artistic Focus – Oscar Galgiani’s work often featured highly complex compositions and an adaptation of the pointillist technique. Although his figure painting skills were exemplary, Galgiani tended not to include figures in his work, focusing instead on the land and buildings of rural California. Galgiani also painted a large number of portraits during his career. His finest large-scale project consisted of two murals painted in the Stockton Court House.
Career Highlights –
- Born in Stockton, California, Oscar Galgiani first studied art with an aunt during his teen years, before attending the California School of Fine Arts, where he studied with a number of major Northern California artists.
- Galgiani chose not to settle in the Bay Area, returning home instead and working a variety of jobs to support himself as an artist. His loyalty to home later earned Galgiani the honorific “Pioneer Artist” of Stockton.
- On sketching trips to California’s Mother Lode, Mono Lake and the north coast, Galgiani developed his plein air painting techniques, creating hundreds of rural landscapes.
Bibliographic references are available upon request.