Rose Van Vranken Art

Rose Van Vranken was born in Passaic, New Jersey, on May 15, 1918. Raised in southern California, Van Vranken grew up in Pasadena. After graduating from Pasadena Junior College, she won an art scholarship to Pomona College (1936–38) and then studied at the California School of Fine Arts and Art Students League in New York City. She also studied with William Zorach and Robert Laurent, and at New York University's Graduate Institute of Fine Art as an Art History student. In 1942, Vranken married Robert Hickey and moved to Iowa City, Iowa. She died in Madison, Wisconsin, on June 17, 2013.

Vranken’s sculptures were primarily based on nature-plants, sea forms, animals, rocks and people. Many of her sculptures, both realistic and abstract, have been designed by fragmenting a large sculpture into other shapes and sizes to create new images. The sculpture and graphics of Rose Van Vranken have been exhibited throughout the United States in many major national and regional shows and have won many awards. Etchings were selected for a touring exhibition in Europe by the National Association of Women Artists and were shown in the Stedelijke Museum in Amsterdam and five other museums. The U.S. State Department has included Van Vranken Sculpture in its Art in Embassies Program. Recent awards have included a "LifeTime Achievement Award" from "Sculptors Dominion" based in San Antonio and an honor award from Salmagundi Club for being a member for 25 years. Since joining Salmagundi in 1979, Van Vranken has won over 30 Salmagundi Awards.