Shirley Julian

Shirley Julian
Staschen, c. 1930
Born
Shirley Staschen

(1914-07-29)July 29, 1914
Oakland, California, U.S.
DiedNovember 26, 1995(1995-11-26) (aged 90)
San Rafael, California, U.S.
Other namesShirley Staschen Triest,
Shirley Julian Staschen
Known forPainting, printmaking
Spouses
  • Valentine White Julien (divorced),
  • Al Podesta (divorced),
  • Frank Triest (divorced)
Difficulty of Thought, c. 1935–1942

Shirley Julian (1914–1995), born as Shirley Staschen, and also known as Shirley Triest, was an American visual artist who co-founded the San Francisco Artists and Writers Union, and worked for the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Julian was a pacifist, and anarchist.

Early life and education

Shirley Staschen was born in Oakland, California on July 29, 1914.

She attended the San Francisco Art Institute and the California College of Arts and Crafts (now California College of the Arts).[1]

Career

In the early 1930s she obtained a job with the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP). Around this time she married her first husband, fellow artist, Valentine White Julien (1908–1964).[2]

In 1933 Staschen joined the WPA team led by Bernard Zakheim, painting one of the Coit Tower murals in San Francisco. The following year she participated in the San Francisco General Strike by picketing at Coit Tower.[3][4][5] Also in the early 1930s Staschen attended the organizing meeting of the San Francisco Artists and Writers Union, along with Zakheim, Kenneth Rexroth, and future husband Frank Triest.[6][7] Towards the end of the decade Staschen assisted the artist Richard Gentry Ayer (1909–1967) with his WPA murals for the Aquatic Park in San Francisco. That led to a job demonstrating lithographic technique at the 1939 World's Fair.[8]

Staschen divorced Valentine Julien and then married Al Podesta, a fellow pacifist and manual laborer. The couple supported conscientious objection to World War II.[9] During the war years Staschen took care of her child and worked as a commercial photographer.

Towards the end of the war Staschen divorced Al Podesta and married Frank Triest (who she would eventually divorce).[10]

Staschen has participated in two interviews for oral histories. She was interviewed in 1964 for part of the Archives of American Art's New Deal and the Arts project.[6] She was interviewed again at the end of her life for the Regional Oral History Office of the Bancroft Library at the University of California. The interview became the major part of 1997 publication A Life on the First Waves of Radical Bohemianism in San Francisco.[11]

Collections

Her work (under the name Shirley Julian) is in the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago,[12] the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive,[13] the Krannert Art Museum,[14] the Metropolitan Museum of Art,[15] the Museum of Modern Art,[16] and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.[17]

References

  1. ^ "Shirley Staschen". AskArt. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  2. ^ Triest, Shirley Staschen; Rainer, Ivan; Zabin, Belle; Goodfriend, Audrey; Triest, Sara Hart; Stern, Radha Lisa; Stern, Gerd; Rainer, Yvonne (1997). A life on the first waves of radical bohemianism in San Francisco : oral history transcript / 1997. pp. 48–51.
  3. ^ "Shirley Staschen Triest Biography". Annex Galleries Fine Prints. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  4. ^ Triest, Shirley Staschen; Rainer, Ivan; Zabin, Belle; Goodfriend, Audrey; Triest, Sara Hart; Stern, Radha Lisa; Stern, Gerd; Rainer, Yvonne (1997). A life on the first waves of radical bohemianism in San Francisco : oral history transcript / 1997. pp. 52–55.
  5. ^ Fuller, Mary (November 1963). "Emblems of Sorrow: The WPA Art Project in San Francisco". Art Forum. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Oral history interview with Shirley Staschen Triest, 1964 April 12-23". Archives of American Art. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  7. ^ Triest, Shirley Staschen; Rainer, Ivan; Zabin, Belle; Goodfriend, Audrey; Triest, Sara Hart; Stern, Radha Lisa; Stern, Gerd; Rainer, Yvonne (1997). A life on the first waves of radical bohemianism in San Francisco : oral history transcript / 1997. pp. 56–73.
  8. ^ Triest, Shirley Staschen; Rainer, Ivan; Zabin, Belle; Goodfriend, Audrey; Triest, Sara Hart; Stern, Radha Lisa; Stern, Gerd; Rainer, Yvonne (1997). A life on the first waves of radical bohemianism in San Francisco : oral history transcript / 1997. p. 152.
  9. ^ Triest, Shirley Staschen; Rainer, Ivan; Zabin, Belle; Goodfriend, Audrey; Triest, Sara Hart; Stern, Radha Lisa; Stern, Gerd; Rainer, Yvonne (1997). A life on the first waves of radical bohemianism in San Francisco : oral history transcript / 1997. pp. 106–112.
  10. ^ Triest, Shirley Staschen; Rainer, Ivan; Zabin, Belle; Goodfriend, Audrey; Triest, Sara Hart; Stern, Radha Lisa; Stern, Gerd; Rainer, Yvonne (1997). A life on the first waves of radical bohemianism in San Francisco : oral history transcript / 1997. pp. 118–130.
  11. ^ Stern, Gerd; Triest, Shirley Staschen; Rainer, Ivan (23 August 2017). A Life on the First Waves of Radical Bohemianism in San Francisco: Oral History Transcript. Creative Media Partners, LLC. ISBN 9781376042122.
  12. ^ Julian, Shirley (1935–1942). "Difficulty of Thought". Art Institute of Chicago. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  13. ^ "499 27th Avenue". BAMPFA. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  14. ^ "Shirley Julian Staschen". Krannert Art Museum. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  15. ^ "The Search". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  16. ^ "Shirley Julian". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  17. ^ "End of the Clue - Shirley Julian Staschen". FAMSF. 20 September 2017. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
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