Guillermo "Bill" Wagner Granizo (né William Joseph Wagner; March 11, 1923 – November 1995)[1][2] is an American artist, known for his brightly colored ceramic tile murals which often featured historical or autobiographical references.[3] He was active in Northern California from 1960 to 1995, and lived in San Francisco, Ben Lomond, San Jose, and Benicia.
Guillermo Wagner Granizo | |
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Born | William Joseph Wagner March 11, 1923 |
Died | November 1995 Benicia, California, U.S. |
Other names | Bill Wagner Granizo |
Years active | 1960–1995 |
Known for | Ceramic tile murals |
Spouses |
|
Children | 2 |
Website | https://www.granizoart.com/ |
Guillermo Wagner Granizo was named William Joseph Wagner at birth, he was born in San Francisco, California on March 11, 1923.[4][5] His mother Dora Granizo was Nicaraguan, and his father Joseph Wagner was of German descent and from the East Coast.[4][5] Granizo lived in Guatemala and Nicaragua for eleven years in childhood.[1][2] Upon returning to San Francisco he attended St. Dominic’s School in the Western Addition neighborhood, and High School of Commerce.[5]
He served in the United States Army during World War II and was injured on Utah Beach during D-Day.[4][6] After the war, Granizo attended San Francisco College of Art (later known as San Francisco Art Institute) for a year,[2][5][7] although some sources state he graduated in 1949.[8]
Granizo worked as an art director at KRON-TV, a television station in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1950s, and later worked on directing educational films.[1][2]
He started doing ceramic tile murals in 1970, and at that time he changed his name to Guillermo Wagner Granizo.[6] He worked with the Stonelight Tile Company of San Jose for many years.[5] His works are made of brightly colored ceramic tiles, and feature bold geometric shapes and abstract characters. He would often sign his work "BWG".[9]
After World War II, Granizo married Amalia Mary "Mollie" Castillo, from a prominent Guatemala family.[5] They had two sons, and divorced in the early 1970s.[5]
Granizo's second marriage was to artist Lark Lucas, and they lived in Ben Lomond, California.[10] The couple separated in 1984, and Granizo moved to San Jose, California to be closer to the tile factory.[5] Granizo moved to Benicia, California in 1980 and resided there until his death in 1995.[11][6] He died in November 1995 in Benicia, from cancer.[2]
This is a select list of notable public artwork created by Granizo, and listed by year of creation.
Year | Title and/or description | Artist(s) | Material(s) | Dimensions | Location | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1962 | Eight indoor murals | Guillermo Wagner Granizo | Ceramic tile mural | San Francisco Academy of Sciences and the Steinhart Aquarium (now California Academy of Sciences), San Francisco, California | [12] | |
1980 | "Cathedral of Man" | Guillermo Wagner Granizo | Ceramic tile mural | Spans multiple walls and ceiling | Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), on the 3rd floor landing, 3501 Market St, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | [13] |
1981 | "A Gift of Appreciation to this Area", one mural | Guillermo Wagner Granizo | Ceramic tile mural | 4-foot by 12-foot mural | Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, 307 Church St, Santa Cruz, California | Mural depicts past events that have been held at that location.[10] |
1984 | "Monterey Mural", one outdoor mural | Guillermo Wagner Granizo | Ceramic tile mural | 11-foot by 45-foot mural | Monterey Conference Center, 1 Portola Plaza, Monterey, California | Mural depicts 150 scenes of history of the city of Monterey including the Rumsiens, Spanish colonists, and Mexican farmers.[1][14] In 1983, the city of Monterey commissioned a 11-foot- by 45-foot tile mural, depicting the history of the city, which was completed a year later in 1984.[1] From 2015 until 2018 the Monterey mural was removed and placed in storage, for restoration and a remodel of the building that housed it.[15] |
1984 | Four outdoor murals | Guillermo Wagner Granizo, Lark Lucas | Ceramic tile mural | each mural is 7-foot by 13-foot mural | Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), in the Caring Center playground, 3501 Market St, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | [16][17] |
1984 | One outdoor mural | Guillermo Wagner Granizo | Ceramic tile mural | Mission Dolores, courtyard, San Francisco, California | Mural depicts the arrival of the San Carlos ship in the San Francisco Bay.[18][19] | |
1984 | “Olympic Fantasy,” one outdoor mural | Guillermo Wagner Granizo | Ceramic tile mural | 93-foot by 24-foot mural | California State University, Los Angeles (CalState LA), Physical Education building, Los Angeles, California | The mural was restored in 2010.[20][12] |
1984 | "Sausalito" | Guillermo Wagner Granizo | Ceramic tile mural | 7-foot by 9 foot mural | Private owner, Woodside, California | Sold at auction the Sausalito Art Festival in 1984.[21] In 2022, parts of this mural were found in a parking lot with 11 missing pieces.[21][22] |
1989 | "Lighthouse Fantasy", four indoor murals | Guillermo Wagner Granizo | Ceramic tile mural | El Faro restaurant, 2399 Folsom Street, San Francisco, California | These murals hang on the upper level of two walls and depict happy people in San Francisco, with many party balloons, hot air balloons, the ocean, a light house, and more.[23] | |
1992–1995 | "Vacaville Centennial", twenty outdoor murals, set into three freestanding walls | Guillermo Wagner Granizo | Ceramic tile mural | Vacaville Civic Center, 650 Merchant St, Vacaville, California | Murals depict the city of Vacaville history.[24] | |
1995 | "Pleasanton Centennial" | Guillermo Wagner Granizo | Ceramic tile murals on three columns | At Bernal Avenue and Main Street in Civic Park, Pleasanton, California | Murals depict the Pleasanton Fairgrounds, local agriculture, the Ohlone people, and the railroad. [25][26] |
He went on to attend the San Francisco Art Institute.