JAROSLAV BROZIK

"EASTER STILL LIFE"

OIL ON CANVAS, SIGNED

AMERICAN, CALIFORNIAN, C.1950

32.5 X 23 INCHES

Jaroslav Brozik

1904-1986

Jaroslav Brozik was born November 29, 1904 in Pizen, Czechoslovakia and immigrated with his family to the U.S. as a young boy. He grew up in Illinois and studied at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Exhibitions: Little Gallery, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 1931, Art Institute of Chicago, International Lithography and Wood Engraving Exhibition Chicago Society of Artists (prize) Detroit Academy (gold medal)

Brozik taught at the Davenport Municipal Art Gallery in the early 1930s, and later, in 1935, became an art instructor at Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, Michigan, where he remained until 1945.

A collection of WPA Children Art 1935-1945, some 300 pieces, was assembled by the artist during this time and remained in his personal collection until his death in 1986 in Santa Barbara, California.

Brozik was among the 5000 artists commissioned in the WPA sponsored Federal Project No.1, which created jobs for artists by employing them with commissions to enhance public buildings with their art. His mural "Rural Delivery" (1941) is extant today at the Howell, Michigan post office.

In 1946, Brozik and his wife Mary moved to Santa Barbara, California. They were active in the Santa Barbara Historical Society and he exhibited at the Santa Barbara Museum. It was after this time Brozik created his collection of Masks used in the annual Santa Barbara Fiesta celebration. The Masks were acquired by the Provant Foundation for preservation and put on permanent loan to the Santa Barbara Historical Society.