Calabi Gallery

Featuring an Eclectic Array of Primarily 20th Century Artwork

Frank Lobdell

Frank Lobdell (Kansas City, MO. August 23, 1921 – December 14, 2013)

                

3 prints from the Sausalito Six “Drawings: a portfolio of 16 offset lithographs” < photos coming soon >

Untitled by Frank Lobdell, 1965, Oil on Canvas, 43-1/2 x 57

Untitled by Frank Lobdell, 1966, Lithograph, 19/20, 27 x 20

Untitled by Frank Lobdell, 1966, Lithograph, 3/20, 13 x 18

Untitled by Frank Lobdell, 1966, Lithograph, 2/20, 12-3/4 x 18-1/4

Untitled by Frank Lobdell, 1991, Aquatint and spit-bite aquatint, 17/20, 5 x 5-1/2

Lithograph by Frank Lobdell featured in the “Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Dinner in Honor of Frank Lobdell” catalog 2003 ↓ shown below ↓

Legion of Honor presents “Dinner in Honor of Frank Lobdell – Wednesday, March 5 2003”

Figure Study by Frank Lobdell, 1963, Mixed Media, 17 x 12-1/2 – SOLD

 

From a young age, Frank Lobdell knew he wanted to be an artist. At 17 years old he  began education at Saint Paul School of Fine Arts in Minnesota where he was taught by instructor Cameron Booth. Born in 1921 in Kansas City, he was of age to fight in WWII and served for four years from ‘42-‘46 becoming an anti war advocate after his service. He then quickly took up residence in Sausalito, California and entered into the California School of Fine Arts to further his education. Upon his entry into the school he met Walter Kuhlman, John Hultberg, James Budd Dixon, George Stillman and Richard Diebenkorn who quickly formed a bond, creating a group known as the Sausalito Six. His first work on the scene was in a show called 5 Young Moderns, thrown by the group which debuted at Seashore Gallery of Modern Art in Sausalito in 1948. To this day they are regarded as a prominent part of Bay Area’s art history. 

A short while later in ‘51, Lobdell and Kuhlman set out for Paris and enrolled in Academie de la Grande Chaumière, a renowned art school with alumni such as Modigliani and Miro as well as Bay Area’s celebrated artist, Robert Howard. He and Kuhlman made their debut in the “City of Light” in a show 6eme Salon des Réalités Nouvelles in the year of 1951. A few months later, returning to San Francisco, Lobdell took on a studio and also returned to his old stomping ground of the California School of Fine Arts, this time as a teacher.  He started conducting courses in ‘57 and is remembered in the highest regard. He eventually moved on to Stanford as an Artist-in-Residence in ‘67 officially became a part of the faculty and stayed until his retirement 24 years later. He died in 2013 at the age of 92 in Palo Alto, CA, and is remembered to this day as a point of pride for the Bay Area. 

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