Rico Lebrun
Rico (Frederico) Lebrun (December 10, 1900 – May 9, 1964) was an Italian-American painter and sculptor.

He was educated at the Naples Academy of Fine Arts and received practical training at a stained-glass factory.[1] After emigrating to the United States in 1924,[1] he worked as a commercial artist in Pittsburgh and New York for several years. In the early 1930s he returned to Italy where he studied the frescoes of Luca Signorelli.[2] He moved to California in 1936. He exhibited in New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Toronto, and taught at Yale, the Art Students' League of New York, and UCLA. He is best known for his series of paintings on "The Crucifixion."[3]
Life
Lebrun was born in 1900 in Naples, Italy.[2] He initially studied banking and journalism before taking art classes at the Naples Academy of Art from 1919 to 1921.[2] Following this he went to Florence, where he studied as a muralist.[2]
Teaching
In 1958 Lebrun was a visiting lecturer of art at Yale University.[4] He also taught at UCLA and Tulane University.[2]
Awards
- John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship (1936–37)[5]
- John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship (1937–38)[5]
- First Prize, "Abstract & Surrealist American Art", The Art Institute of Chicago (1947)
- Norman Wait Harris Silver Medal, The Art Institute of Chicago (1947)
- First Prize, "Artists of Los Angeles & Vicinity", Los Angeles County Museum of Art (1948)[6]
- Purchase Prize, "Illinois National Exhibition of Contemporary Painting", University of Illinois (1949)
- Second Prize, "American Painting Today", The Metropolitan Museum of Art (1950)[7]
- Award of Merit of the American Academy of Arts & Letter for "Outstanding achievement in the past five years in paintings" (1953)
- Temple Gold Medal, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (1953)[8]
- Lippincott Prize, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (1962)[9]
- Elected into the National Academy of Design (1962)[10]
- Purchase Award, "Third Biennial National Print Exhibit", Pasadena Art Museum (1962)[8]
- Joseph Pennell Award, The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (1963)[8]
- John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship (1962–63)[5]
Collections
Lebrun's papers are held in the Smithsonian Archives of American Art.[11] His work is included in numerous collections, including:
- the Museum of Modern Art, New York,[12]
- the Los Angeles County Museum of Art,[13]
- the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York[14]
- the Whitney Museum of American Art,[15]
- The Jewish Museum, New York,[16]
- the North Carolina Museum of Art,[17]
- the Benton Museum of Art,[18]
- the Santa Barbara Museum of Art,[19]
- the Vincent Price museum of Art,[20]
- the Harvard Art Museum,[21]
- the Museo ItaloAmericano,[22] and
- the Claremont Museum of Art.[23]
References
- "Drawings by Rico Lebrun - News - The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Archived from the original on 2017-12-06. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
- "Rico Lebrun, Artist, 63, Dead; Expressionist Painted Murals; Work Is Represented in Major Museums — Theme Was Good and Evil in Man". New York Times. Archived from the original on 2018-09-22. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
- "Drawings by Rico Lebrun at the Mirski Gallery". The Harvard Crimson. September 27, 1963. Archived from the original on December 6, 2017. Retrieved December 6, 2017.
- Menil collection (Houston, Tex.).; Eva Hesse; Drawing center (New York).; Drawing Center (New York, N.Y.), Walker Art Center (Minneapolis, Minn.)., Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles, Calif.) (2006). Eva Hesse Drawing. Yale University Press. pp. 52–. ISBN 0-300-11618-7.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
- "John Simon Guggenheim Foundation - Rico Lebrun". www.gf.org. Archived from the original on 2018-09-22. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
- "Rico Lebrun - Biography". rogallery.com. Archived from the original on 2018-09-22. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
- "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-09-22. Retrieved 2018-09-21.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- Fine Arts Patrons of Newport Harbor (1964). Rico Lebrun: an exhibition organized by the Fine Arts Patrons of Newport Harbor in collaboration with the Newport Harbor Service League. Presented at the following participating galleries: Pavilion Gallery, Newport Beach, California, Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, Colorado Springs, Colo., Portland Art Museum, Portland, Ore.
- Ellen C. Oppler; Joe and Emily Lowe Art Gallery (Syracuse University) (1983). Rico Lebrun: transformations/transfiguration, "--changing what is disfigured into what is transfigured" : 13 November 1983-18 January 1984, Joe and Emily Lowe Art Gallery, Syracuse University, School of Art, College of Visual and Performing Arts. The Gallery.
- Art Direction. Advertising Trade Publications. 1962. Archived from the original on 2014-07-05. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
- "Lebrrico" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-09-22. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
- "Rico Lebrun - MoMA". www.moma.org. Archived from the original on 2018-09-22. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
- "Rico Lebrun - LACMA Collections". collections.lacma.org. Archived from the original on 2019-06-19. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
- "Turtle Soldier 1949". www.metmuseum.org. Archived from the original on 22 September 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
- "Whitney Museum of American Art: Rico Lebrun". collection.whitney.org. Archived from the original on 2018-09-22. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
- "The Jewish Museum". thejewishmuseum.org. Archived from the original on 2018-09-22. Retrieved 2019-12-07.
- "Art works of Rico Lebrun". Archived from the original on 2018-11-02. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
- "Rico Lebrun". 19 December 2014. Archived from the original on 22 September 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- "Rico LEBRUN - Artists - eMuseum". collections.sbma.net. Archived from the original on 2018-09-22. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
- "Vincent Price Art Museum - Collections". vincentpriceartmuseum.org. Archived from the original on 2018-09-22. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
- "Art for viewers' sake". 16 April 2014. Archived from the original on 22 September 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2018.
- "Lebrun, Rico – Women at the Cross - Museo Italo Americano".
- "Permanent Collection - Claremont Museum of Art". claremontmuseum.org. Archived from the original on 2018-09-22. Retrieved 2018-09-21.