Frank Romero

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For the Peruvian-Japanese footballer, see Frank Romero (footballer).
Frank Romero
Born (1941-07-11) July 11, 1941 (age 82)[1][2]
Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, California, United States
EducationOtis College of Art and Design, California State University, Los Angeles
Known forpainting
MovementChicano art movement
Spouse(s)Diane Marie Humphrey, Nancy Wyle, Sharon Lear Dabney
ChildrenSonia Romero

Frank Edward Romero (born July 11, 1941) is an American artist considered to be a pioneer in the Chicano art movement.[3][4][5] Romero's paintings and mural works explore Chicano and Los Angeles iconography, often featuring palm trees and bright colors.

Biography[edit]

Death of Rubén Salazar (1986) at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in 2022

Frank Romero was born July 11, 1941, in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.[6][3][7] He was the oldest of three children in a middle class family, his parents were Delia Jurado and Edwardo (or Edward) Romero.[4] Romero is of Spanish and Mexican heritage.[8] Growing up they spoke English at home and Romero learned to speak Spanish later in life.[8]

He attended the summer program at Otis College of Art and Design and in the 1950s he enrolled in California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) where he befriended Carlos Almaraz.[3] Romero studied with Rico Lebrun and Herbert Jepson.[3] In the 1960s, he worked in graphic design for the Charles and Ray Eames studio and later for A&M Records.[3] In 1968–1969, Romero lived in New York City with Carlos Almaraz.[8]

In the 1970s, Romero alongside Almaraz, Roberto de la Rocha and Gilbert Lujan formed the art collective Los Four.[3] In 1974, Los Four were the first Chicano artist to be shown at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).[3]

His best known painting is Death of Ruben Salazar (1986), which was one of his police brutality series.[9]

Personal life[edit]

Romero's first marriage was in 1969 to Diane Marie Humphrey in New York City.[4][10]

In 1980, Romero married Nancy Wyle in Los Angeles, California.[11] Nancy's parents were artist Edith R. Wyle and Frank S. Wyle, the co-founders of the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles.[12] Together they had daughter, Sonia Romero.[12]

Frank Romero is currently married to artist Sharon Lear Dabney.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Frank Romero (American, b.1941)". McNay Art Museum Online Collection. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  2. ^ Sentís, Mireia; Vargas, George (2007). Pintores de Aztlán (in Spanish). La Casa Encendida. ISBN 978-84-95321-98-5.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Miranda, Carolina A. (2017-03-09). "Chicano art pioneer Frank Romero is still painting, still loves cars and still defends ugly palm trees". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  4. ^ a b c "Oral history interview with Frank Romero, 1997 January 17-March 2". Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  5. ^ "Pioneering Chicano artist Frank Romero honored in career retrospective". ABC7 Los Angeles. 2017-02-19. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  6. ^ Avila, Eric (2007). "East Side Stories: Freeways and Their Portraits in Chicano Los Angeles". Landscape Journal. 26 (1): 83–97. doi:10.3368/lj.26.1.83. ISSN 0277-2426. JSTOR 43323756. S2CID 108445910.
  7. ^ Landauer, Susan; Gerdts, William H.; Trenton, Patricia (2003-11-10). The Not-So-Still Life: A Century of California Painting and Sculpture. University of California Press. p. 197. ISBN 978-0-520-23938-8.
  8. ^ a b c Congdon, Kristin G.; Hallmark, Kara Kelley (2002). Artists from Latin American Cultures: A Biographical Dictionary. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 235. ISBN 978-0-313-31544-2.
  9. ^ "Frank Romero". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  10. ^ "New York, New York, U.S., Marriage License Indexes, 1907-2018". Ancestry.com. New York City Clerk's Office, New York City, New York. 1969.
  11. ^ "California, U.S., Marriage Index, 1960-1985". Ancestry.com. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services.
  12. ^ a b "Sonia Romero". LA County Arts Commission. Retrieved 2021-02-22.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Frank_Romero&oldid=1177273947"