Biography from AskART:
| | Born in Constanza, Romania on Dec. 25, 1898. At age two Schnier immigrated with his family to San Francisco where his father became engaged in home building. The younger Schnier's interests during the early part of his life were engineering and architecture. After receiving an M.A. degree from the engineering school at Stanford University in 1920, he worked as an engineer in Hawaii until 1923. Opting for an art career, he abandoned engineering and returned to the mainland to begin an intensive study of art and architecture at UC Berkeley. After two years at UC, he spent another year at the CSFA where he decided to become a sculptor. His first favorable notice was given in 1927 when his work was exhibited at the EastWest Gallery in San Francisco. Schnier took an extended tour of Asia after having established himself as a successful sculptor. He returned to San Francisco in 1933 and, from the philosophies he had studied in the Orient, brought with him a more mature approach to his work. By 1935 he was teaching at the CCAC, and in that year he was chosen to design the half-dollar which was minted to commemorate the opening of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. He joined the faculty at UC Berkeley in 1936 and continued teaching sculpture there for 30 years. He contributed statuary to Treasure Island for the GGIE. In 1979 the San Francisco Arts Commission made him Artist of the Year. He was active as an artist until shortly before his death in Walnut Creek, CA on March 24, 1988. Schnier contributed greatly to California art both as a sculptor and an educator. An advocate of modern art, he produced abstractions in wood, clay, bronze, marble, pewter, and glazed ceramics. Member: Calif. Society of Mural Painters; NSS. Exh: SFAA, 1928-30 (1st prizes); Seattle, 1929 (1st prize); Oakland Art Gallery, 1933-48 (gold medals); LACMA, 1934 (award); SFMA, 1935; GGIE, 1939; De Young Museum, 1947, 1960; Stanford Univ. Museum, 1962; Crocker Museum, 1963; Santa Barbara Museum, 1963; Mills College (Oakland), 1998. In: Honolulu Academy of Arts; Mills College; SFMA; CHS; UC Berkeley; Berkeley High School Auditorium (bas relief); CPLH; Santa Barbara Museum; Crocker Museum (Sacramento); SF Art Inst. Library (bas relief); Oakland Museum; Stanford Museum; Smithsonian Inst. | Source:
Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940"
Interview with the artist or his/her family; California Art Research, 20 volumes; American Art Annual 1929-33; Who's Who in California 1942; Contemporary American Sculpture; Who's Who in American Art 1936-70; American Art Review, Oct. 1998; SF Examiner, 3-26-1988 (obituary). | | Nearly 20,000 biographies can be found in Artists in California 1786-1940 by Edan Hughes and is available for sale ($150). For a full book description and order information please click here. |
Biography from AskART:
| Moving to San Francisco in 1926, Jacques Schnier became a sculptor especially noted for his marble carvings including "Leda and the Swan" and wood reliefs such as "The Gardner", which is at the San Francisco Museum of Art. He also worked in stone, clay and metal. In the late 60s, he changed his style from figural to geometric abstraction and began to incorporate industrial materials such as plastics into his work.
He started his professional career as a Civil Engineer, having studied at Stanford University. Then he practiced for two years in the Hawaiian Islands. However a course in architectural design followed by study of painting and sculpture at the University of California and the California School of the Fine Arts turned him to sculpting and carving.
Like many of his contemporaries, he found inspiration in African and Meso- American cultures and also Asian.
With a studio on the Montgomery Block, the art colony, he was inspired by the bordering Chinese district. From 1932-1933, he traveled extensively in the Orient. After serving in World War II, he returned to California and lived in Lafayette in the Bay Area. He also taught Life Modeling and Sculpture Design at the California School of Arts and Crafts, was active with the National Sculpture Society and wrote articles on sculpture for various publications.
Source:
"The Western Artist", January 1936, 'Jacques Schnier--Sculptor', p. 10
Peter Falk, "Who Was Who in American Art" |
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