User:Buster7/Jenne Magafan

Jenne Magafan, born in Chicago, Illinois on August 10, 1915,  was an American painter, muralist and lithographer. She and her twin sister, Ethel, were famed artists that achieved early success thru the government funded mural projects of the mid-'30's and early-40's. The sisters collaborated to create seven joint exhibits during the course of their careers. They were close, did not compete for fame or fortune, and they each maintained their individual artistic styles.

Birth
Jenne and her twin sister, Ethel, were born in Chicago, Il., to Petros Magafan who had emigrated from Greece in 1912. The exact date of their birth is unknown. Some source contend it was in October 10th of 1915 while others state it was August 10 of the following year. The family soon moved to Colorado Springs, Co.

Education
Both sisters attended East High School in Denver, earning the admiration and some financial assistence from their teacher, Helen Perry. When Jenne won the Carter Memorial Art Scholarship of $90, the sisters could afford to study with renowned Regionalist painters Frank Mechau and Boardman Robinson at the Colorado Springs Fine Art Center. (((AWA, page 234)))

WORK

 * Newark Museum,
 * COlorado Sprgs FA Center
 * The White House, Washington DC
 * Grand Rapids Art Gallery,

Exhibits
Over the course of her ___ year career she had many exhibitions of her work. She was the winner a prize from the 48 States Competition in Denver, Co in 1933. Other exhibits included the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 1942, the Carnegie Institute in 1941, San Francisco Museum of Fine Arts in 1941, 1944 and 1946, the Colorado Fine Arts Center in 1938, 1940, 1941 and 1945, the National Academy of Design 1943, 1944 and 1945, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1942, the National Gallery of Art in 1942, the Los Angeles Museum of Art in 1945, the Denver Art Museum in 1934, 1935 an 1938 thru 1942, the Institute of Modern Art in Boston in 1941, the Art Institute of Chicago in 1941 and 1942, the Museum of Modern Art in 1942 and the Kansas City Art Institute in  1940 and 1942, Note: I will compare the dates and places with her sister entry at WWWinAA to see which one were shared events, B7

Murals
Jenne Magafan was an American artist and muralist known for her work in public spaces. In addition to the mural for the post office mural project in __________________________ she completed many other murals __________________ and a 1945 mural for the Sunroom Lounge of the The Beverly Hills Hotel was painted by the Magafan sisters.  Beginning in 1935 and into 1936 Frank Mechau hired Magafan and her husband, Edward Chavez as assistants.p 263 The pieces were removed from the post office

and hung in the post office in 1937. Mechau hired the Magafan and Chavez as assistants.[https://books.google.com.mx/books?id

Denver HS --- Tennessee Mural (?) (not listed in WWW)

"Indian Fight" and "The Corral", Colorado Springs, Colorado were commissions won by Frank Mechau in 1935 and hung in the post office in 1937. Mechau hired the Magafan and Chavez as assistants.p 263 The pieces were removed from the post office probably during a 1962 remodel. "The Corral" adorns a hall on the second floor of Denver's Byron Rogers Federal Courthouse. In 2013, "Indian Fight" was in storage in Washington, D. C., but in 2016, it was included in a retrospective exhibit of Mechau's works at the  Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center. On page 235 Fig.6-10 depicts 2 cowboys on horseback, a barking dog at their feet, a blacksmith on the right, and town folk on the left. Broad simple forms capture The Spirit of the American West.
 * 1937 "Wild Horse Race" and "Decorative Map", Glenwood Springs, Colorado, were commissions in which Frank Mechau hired Magafan and Chavez to assist him again.p 263 w/ husband Eduardo Chavez WWW (NOTE: He also needs an article... Buster Seven   Talk 
 * 1939 Winter in Nebraska, Albion, Nebraska WWW depicts a winter farming scene
 * 1939 Western Town in Helper, Utah Commissioned in October 1939 )  and

48-1949 4 Murals "Jonas Rice, First Settler in Worcester" (1948}, "Jonas Rice the First School Teacher" (1948) "The Classroom of Jonas Rice" (1949), "The Election of Jonas Rice as Selectman at a Town Meeting" (1949), Worcester East Middle School, Worcester, Massachusetts are being conserved by staff at the College of the Holy Cross The 1949 mural,Mountains in Snow,  was a collaboration for the boardroom of the Social Security Administration Building, Wash DC WWW
 * 1940 "Cowboy Dance", Anson, Texas Mural WWW
 * 1949---

Awards
In 1942 she won the Peixoto Memorial Prize for her mural work. . She won the 1951 Purchase Prize from the Artists of the Upper Hudson Exhibition. 

Sisters style difference
Of their 1950 Ganso Gallery exhibition in New York, an ART NEWS review said, "Ethel is the more rugged painter, interested primarily in horses....Jenne, whose style is similar but more sensitive, more often makes people the focus of attention."

Marriage
Her spouse's name was Eduardo Chavez aka Edward Chavez. They were married in ____________________ on ______________________.

Death
She died in 1952 of a cerebral hemorrhage in Albany, New York after a brief illness having just returned to America from a trip to Italy for her husbands Fullright _____________________,  Her sister Ethel are her husband, Bruce Currie, had traveled to Greece, during the same period, also on a Fullbright.