San Francisco Bay Rocks
Artist
Jade Fon Woo
(1911 - 1983)
Date1960s
MediumWatercolor on paper
Dimensions21 x 29 in. (53.3 x 73.7 cm)
ClassificationsPainting
Credit LineGift of The Hilbert Collection
Object number2023.116
DescriptionJade Fon Woo was born in San Jose, California, but spent his formative years in Winslow, Arizona. After attending Arizona State College in Flagstaff (now Northern Arizona University), Fon began to explore his artistic passions. By the early 1930s, Fon had relocated to Los Angeles, where he studied at the Otis Art Institute and the Art Students League. Immersed in the art world, he joined the California Water Color Society and began exhibiting in their shows. During this time, he also worked briefly as a scenic artist at MGM movie studios.Fon spent a few years in the 1940s in a unique role as a singer and emcee at the famed Forbidden City nightclub in San Francisco. There he also painted watercolors of the club’s patrons and performers, blending his artistic talent with his charismatic stage presence.
In the ‘50s, he began a teaching career at East Contra Costa Junior College (now Diablo Valley College) in Pleasant Hill, California. He remained a beloved art instructor there for nearly three decades. Alongside teaching, he worked as a freelance commercial illustrator. In 1963, Fon co-founded the annual Asilomar Watercolor Workshop in Pacific Grove with his friend and fellow artist Harold Gretzner. These popular workshops continued for twenty years and carried on even after Fon’s passing.
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