Sam Provenzano

'San Francisco', Mid-century California Modernist, SFMOMA, Whitney Museum

Circa 1955

Sam Provenzano was born in Luciusboro and painted circa 1955. He was a graduate of Syracuse University and completed his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence. Provenzano studied with Sol LeWitt, Umberta Romano, Jean Charlot and Ricardo Martinez. A notable teacher, Provenzano ran his own art school and was also the Director of the Art Department at San Francisco's Town School. He exhibited widely and with success and was the recipient of numerous prizes and juried awards from the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the de Young Museum, the Legion of Honor, the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Huntington Museum. His work is held in the permanent collections of numerous national museums including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, the de Young Museum, Oakland Museum, Rochester Museum Memorial Art Gallery, Museo ItaloAmericano, the University Art Museum at Berkeley and the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento. He died in San Francisco in 1999.