In this first biography of artist Belle (Goldschlager) Baranceanu, Jennifer Peoples Hernandez tells the extraordinary story of a woman who rose from humble beginnings to become the most important female muralist in San Diego during the Great Depression and a prominent California Modern artist. Her meteoric rise in the art world began in Chicago in the 1920s, but the onset of the Great Depression nearly ended her career. Drawing from previously unpublished letters and archival records, Hernandez skillfully weaves Baranceanu's resilient story into the larger history of the Depression and New Deal in Chicago and San Diego and highlights the success of the government's work relief programs. For Baranceanu and others fortunate enough to work for the New Deal art projects, the Depression turned out to be a golden age in American art history with a level of government patronage that has been unmatched ever since.
Jennifer Peoples Hernandez teaches at San Diego Mesa College.
Introduction Chapter 1: The First American Chapter 2: Childhood and Homesteading in North Dakota Chapter 3: Becoming an Artist Chapter 4: The Los Angeles Period Chapter 5: Grief and Depression Chapter 6: Relief Chapter 7: The Federal Government Becomes a Patron of the Arts Chapter 8: The Emergency Work Relief Program in San Diego Chapter 9: A World's Fair and a Growing Art Community Chapter 10: A Second New Deal for the Arts Chapter 11: Decorating the Post Office Chapter 12: The Federal Art Project Chapter 13: The End of an Era
In Belle Baranceanu: Life, Art and the New Deal Renaissance, historian Jennifer Hernandez has created a sweeping new look at the role of art, religion, politics, gender equity and social norms in America through the life and art of Belle Baranceanu, a name unfamiliar to most Americans, yet one who deserves recognition as a prominent 20th century feminist artist. Belle's story is an American story - from her Jewish family fleeing Eastern Europe - to settling in the American Midwest to finally heading west and Belle settling in San Diego - all in search of a better life and to practice her art and earn a living. Belle's works speak of personal tragedy and triumph and how the larger forces of the Great Depression set America in a new direction. Hernandez writes eloquently with a style that non historians will find engaging and her scholarship provides new insights into this critical time in American Art and social history that raises important parallels between art and society then, and today. -- Bill Lawrence, San Diego History Center A mid-century female artist, Belle Baranceanu leveraged her Jewish immigrant background to produce socially conscious art at the start of America's modernist movement. Her story helps us understand the importance of federal programs such as the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in advancing modern art during the 1930s. It also sheds light on the personal struggles faced by women in Southern California's rapidly developing art scene. -- Molly McClain, University of San Diego
