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Beniamino Bufano

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Beniamino Bufano
Sculptor
Italian-American, (1898–1970)
Born San Fale, Italy. Came to California in 1915 and studied at the Art Students' League in New York from 1913-1915. Traveled to Europe and China from 1916-1921. Returned to San Francisco in 1921, and spent the rest of his life there when he wasn't traveling. Taught at S.F. Institute of Art, but in 1923 was dismissed because he was too modern for the conservative faculty. Later taught at UC Berkeley (1960) and the Calif. College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland (1964-65). Was a prolific sculptor, and many of his works are publicly accessible in the Bay Area, as well as in capitals in European countries. Died on Aug. 16, 1970, in San Francisco.

He is best known for his large-scale monuments representing peace. His modernist work often featured smoothly rounded animals and relatively simple shapes. He worked in ceramics, stone, stainless steel, and mosaic, and sometimes combined two or more of these media. Some of his works are cast stone replicas. He sometimes went by the name Benvenuto Bufano because he admired Benvenuto Cellini. His youthful nickname was "Bene," which was often anglicized into "Benny." He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in November 1938.

The exact date of his birth is unknown. His tombstone states his birth as October 15, 1890. Many biographies cite his birth year as 1898. He once claimed – in a book dedicated to an admirer – he was born in 1913. However, according to the US Census taken in April of 1910, Beniamino was a 21 year-old sculptor, living with his parents and three of his brothers at their 143 Sullivan Street apartment in New York City’s SoHo district. Assuming he was in fact born in October, that would make his birth year 1888.


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