August 25, 1997 Contact: Barbara McKenna (408) 459-2495; mckenna@ua.ucsc.edu

CALIFORNIA ARTIST LEAVES LIFE'S WORK TO EDUCATE FUTURE GENERATIONS

Living trust of Charles Griffin Farr identifies UC Santa Cruz as recipient of his private collection

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SANTA CRUZ, CA--Charles Griffin Farr, one of California's great realist painters and a veteran of the San Francisco art scene, died August 5 at the age of 89.

Farr, described not long ago by a reporter as "the grand old man of the San Francisco art scene," is considered a master of the American Realist tradition. Born in 1908 in Birmingham, Alabama, he painted for more than 70 years. In his youth, he studied in New York City and at the Academie Americaine in Paris. Farr began his move westward after serving in the army in World War II, arriving in San Francisco in 1948 where he lived until his death.

This past year Farr donated a dozen of his paintings and drawings to the Mary Porter Sesnon Art Gallery at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Some 100 people attended a January reception to honor Farr. The reception took place at University House, the residence of UCSC Chancellor M.R.C. Greenwood, where Farr's works continue to be on display. At the time, Greenwood noted, "It is a delight both to live with and share with others the work of one of America's great contemporary painters. Mr. Farr's gift will be an exceptional resource for future UCSC artists."

"Charles Griffin Farr was a wonderful artist and teacher and a generous man," says Sesnon Gallery curator Pamela Bailey. "We are honored to be entrusted with this gift. As part of UCSC's permanent collection, the extraordinary works of Charles Griffin Farr will be preserved for the appreciation and education of generations to come."

Farr learned of UCSC in 1990 when Rolando Castellon, curator of the Sesnon Gallery at the time, invited the artist to exhibit his work here. Farr, who taught for nearly a decade at the San Francisco Art Institute, was impressed by the campus's art program and decided to donate his works to the gallery's permanent collection, making his work accessible to students and the general public.

Farr's work is on display in public collections at the National Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C., the Oakland Museum of California, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and at UCSC. Major exhibitions of Farr's work are planned for the next year both at UCSC and in San Francisco. Farr is survived by his nephews, Tom Davis and William Davis, both of Knoxville, Tenn.

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