'Paris, Notre-Dame and Pont De L'Archevêché' by Julian Garnsey, 1961, Art Students League President, California Watercolor Society President

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Signed lower left, in graphite, 'Julian E Garnsey' (American, titled, verso, 'Notre Dame and Pont de l'Archeveche' and dated 'May … Read more Signed lower left, in graphite, 'Julian E Garnsey' (American, titled, verso, 'Notre Dame and Pont de l'Archeveche' and dated 'May 11, 1961'. Old label verso.

Born in New York City, Julian Garnsey was the son of muralist Elmer E. Garnsey and first studied architecture and design at Harvard University and the Art Students League in New York. He subsequently traveled to Paris and studied privately under Jean-Paul Laurens and Richard Miller.

For ten years, Garnsey assisted his father in painting commissioned murals, and he served as the President of the Art Students League in New York from 1915 to 1917. After serving in the United States Army as a Captain of Field Artillery during World War I, Garnsey moved to Southern California for a brief time, living in Los Angeles and Hermosa Beach. He worked for MGM Studios and exhibited watercolors of subjects ranging from local subjects to European scenes. He also undertook murals and decorative work in the Los Angeles area while continuing his studies at the Chouinard Art Institute.

Returning to the East Coast, he supervised color schemes and decorations for the World's Fair and, In the 1940's, served as director of the Beaux Arts Institute of Design in New York City. He was also appointed Associate Professor in the School of Architecture at Princeton University between 1942 and 1946 and continued to be actively involved in the East Coast art community there until the 1950's.

Garnsey was also an accomplished muralist and received a number of public commissions including for the Los Angeles Public Library and the Los Angeles Stock Exchange as well as for the Bridges Art Museum and the Library of the University of California Los Angeles. In addition he was an elected member of numerous professional organizations including the California Art Club, the California Watercolor Society, which he served as President in 1929, and the Architecture League of New York.

Reference:
Artists in California hird Edition, Edan Milton Hughes: Crocker Art Museum, Sheridan Books 2002, Vol. 1, p. 416; E. Benezit, Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs, et Graveurs, Jacques Busse, 1999 Nouvelle Édition, Gründ 1911, Vol. 5, p. 881; et al. See less