Biografie von Benjamin MESSICK (1891-1981)

Birth place: Stafford, MO

Death place: Apple Valley, CA

Addresses: Los Angeles, CA; Long Beach, CA

Profession: Painter, muralist, instructor, lithographer, etcher

Studied: Los Angeles Sch. Art & Des., 1923; Chouinard AI, 1925-32; anatomy with F. Tolles Chamberlain; C. Hinckle; P. Carter.

Exhibited: Los Angeles County Fair, 1925 (prize); PAFA, 1927 (prize); LACMA, 1935 (solo); Stendahl Gal., Los Angeles, 1938-40; Chouinard AI, 1941 (solo); CI, 1941; MMA (AV), 1942; SFMA, 1942 (solo); Albany Inst. Hist. & Art, 1943; Springfield (MO) Mus. Art, 1943 (solo); U.S. Nat. Mus., 1944 (solo); LOC, 1945; NAD, 1945; Santa Barbara Mus. Art, 1945 (solo); William Rockhill Nelson Gal. Art, 1945 (solo); Pasadena AI, 1946 (solo); Two Year Travel Exh. Midwest & Southwest Mus. & Gals., 1950-51; E.B. Crocker Gal., 1957; Fresno AC, 1957; Long Beach Art Mus., 1957; Springfield Art Mus., 1967; Messick-Hay Studio Gal., Long Beach, CA,1970s. Awards: Calif. Graphics Award, Florida Southern College, 1951; Seton Hall Univ. Key Award, 1958; Sullivan Goss, 2000 (estate exhibit).

Member: Long Beach AA; Laguna Beach AA; Los Angeles AA; Calif. AC; SSAL; AFA; Royal Soc. Arts (fellow)

Work: SFMA; Springfield (MO) Mus. Art; LACMA; Long Beach (CA) Mus. Art; Wiggins Trade Sch., Los Angeles; Calif. State Bldg., Los Angeles; Hall of Records, Los Angeles; Santa Barbara H.S.; Nat. Mus., Wash., DC; Smithsonian Inst. Commissions: three murals, U.S. Treasury Dept., 1935-40.

Comments: Preferred medium: oils. Positions: sketch artist, Disney Studios, Los Angeles, 1940; sketch artist, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Culver City, CA, 1942. Teaching: Chouinard Art Inst., Los Angeles, 1943-51; San Diego Sch. Arts & Crafts, La Jolla, CA, 1948-53; Messick-Hay Studio, Long Beach, 1952-.

Sources: WW73; WW47; Janice Penny Lovoos, "Ben Messick," Am. Artist (1950); Michael M. Engel, "Sketching the Spec," Design magazine (1956); Vera Williams, "Art is a Way of Life," Southland Magazine (1966); add'l info courtesy Anthony R. White, Burlingame, CA.