Benjamin G. Vaganov "Once The Master" Impressionist Tempera on Linen 1955

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"Once the Master" a portrait of a Zuni Master Potter in contrast with the emergent modernism around him. He is … Read more "Once the Master" a portrait of a Zuni Master Potter in contrast with the emergent modernism around him. He is beneath an adobe and his Kiln is beside him; as he sits wrapped in a woven blanket. Benjamin G. Vaganov (Russian/American, 1896-1981) Image 22"H x 19.5". Oil on Linen on cardboard. Signed lower Left "B. Vagonov", signed and titled on verso "
A self-taught Modernist, Benjamin Vaganov sometimes worked under the pseudonym "Venia." His early work in California's lumber and mining industries proved to be a significant influence on the artist's life and paintings, whose texture often suggests an application of paint intended to convey Vaganov's reverence for their subjects by creating the sensation of a natural substance.

Career Highlights:
Born in Tsarist Russia, Benjamin Vaganov left his homeland to escape the dangers of the Revolution, living for several years in China before coming to the United States in 1923.

He settled first in Oregon, where he found work in the lumber industry, and then moved to San Diego in 1928, where he established a studio in the Spanish Village in Balboa Park.

Vaganov completed a number of Works Progress Administration art projects, including a mural painted in the House of Pacific Relations in San Diego, and dioramas in the San Diego County Visual Education building.

Vaganov remained active in San Diego art circles until he moved to San Francisco in the 1950s, where he spent his remaining years.

Exh: Calif. State Fair, 1931, 1949; Kingsley Art Club (Sacramento), 1933; GGIE, 1939; San Diego FA Society, 1940-42; San Francisco Art Association, 1958.

In: San Diego Museum; Carnegie Library, Escondido; House of Pacific Relations, San Diego (mural); San Diego County Visual Education (dioramas).

Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940"
Who's Who in American Art 1947-53; Interview with the artist or his/her family See less