Renzo G. Fenci (1914–1999) was an Italian-American artist and arts educator, best known for his bronze sculpture. He worked in 1942 as a New Deal artist with the United States Treasury Department's Section of Painting and Sculpture.

Biography

Fenci was born in Florence, Italy on 18 November 1914. ^[1] At a young age he went to study art at the Royal Institute of Art. ^[1] He received a master's degree in 1932 from Instituto d'Arte Firenze (Art Institute of Florence) and studied with sculptors Libero Andriotti and Bruno Innocenti. ^{[2] [3]}

He emigrated to New York City, New York around 1937 or 1938, due to the change in politics in Europe and the rise in Fascism. ^{[1] [4]} Fenci lived in New York City, New York and Madison, Wisconsin before settling down in Pullman, Washington in order to teach fine art at Washington State College. ^[1]

He was commissioned in 1942 by the United States Treasury Department's Section of Painting and Sculpture (later known as The Section of Fine Arts) to create art. ^[5] These commissions were for the creation of a series of terra-cotta bas reliefs for a post office in Easley, South Carolina, entitled “Cultivation of Corn”. ^[5] Originally he planned to create six bas-relief panels, but the Section of Painting and Sculpture would only pay for three panels and there was much difficulty in the completion of this job. ^[5]

By 1944, Fenci moved to Santa Barbara, California. Between 1947 until 1954, he was taught at Santa Barbara College (now called University of California, Santa Barbara). ^{[2] [6]} From 1955 until 1977, Fenci was the head of the sculpture department at Otis Art Institute (now named Otis College of Art and Design). ^[7]

Fenci has work in the many public art museum collections including at the Uffizi museum, ^[8] and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. ^[9]

Fenci died at the age of 85 in Los Angeles, California on December 31, 1999. ^[1]

Personal life

He was married to Jeanne Lyons Foster in Santa Barbara. ^[7] Fenci had one son and two stepdaughters, his son is also a sculptor. ^{[4] [6]}

See also

• List of New Deal sculpture

References

External links

• Renzo Fenci at Find a Grave
• Interview with Renzo Fenci, the Dialogues in art television series (episode 10)