THIS UNSIGNED PAINTING HAS A TAG ON THE BACK IDENTIFYING IT AS FROM THE ESTATE OF WILL WHITE (1888-1959 Biography from AskART: Born in San Francisco, CA on July 29, 1888. White
studied at the CSFA under Spencer Macky. By 1920 he was living in San Luis
Obispo and soon settled in Los Angeles. He died there on March 17, 1959. His
work includes landscapes and still lifes. Exh: Painters & Sculptors of LA,
1929. Source: Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940 The following, submitted February 2005, is from Brian White, a genealogist and descendant of the older brother of the father of William (Will) White. William Patrick White, Jr (Will) was born July 29, 1888 in San Francisco, CA, the youngest son of five children of William P. White, Sr and Mary Ellen McCraith. He was raised in Healdsburg, CA where his father had a grocery business on the Plaza. He began his artist work when as a child sitting on the counter of his father's store, he would copy pictures and draw customers. He would use pencil and draw on the backs of paper sacks that his father would then use to bag the customer's purchase. After the death of his mother (1897) and father (1908), Will moved to Alameda, CA to live his aunt and uncle. He opened an art store on Sutter St. in San Francisco in 1915 and was living at 442 Scott St, SF. During WWI, his artist skills were put to good use when he was sent to France where he spent the wars designing and paintingcamouflage motifs and disguises on Allied ships. After the war, Will returned to San Francisco where he married Miss Lillian Shepherd. They relocated to Los Angeles where he worked and managed the art departments of several southern CA newspapers. A self-employed artist for over 50 years, he was a founding member of the Los Angeles Art Director's Club, an early member of the Painters and Sculptors Club of Los Angeles, and engaged in commercial art. After his retirement he devoted himself to painting portraits and landscapes. Will White died at his home on March 20, 1959 of congestive heart failure and is buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Enduring Faith Section, Space 3, Lot 3576 in Hollywood Hills, CA. He resided in Glendale, CA for the last 20 years of his life. His widow, Lillian Shepherd White, died November 7, 1975 and is buried along side him. No children. Will White's ancestor's on his father's side were Irish immigrants to St. Catherine's Parish, Portneuf Co., Quebec, Canada in the early 1820's. They arrived by ship to Panama, overland by mule to the Pacific, and another ship to San Francisco in March of 1853. A cousin if his grandfather, Charles White, was First Alcalde of San Jose, CA in 1848, before statehood and was instrumental in the selection of San Jose as the first capital of CA in 1850. |
