The Journal of San Diego History
SAN DIEGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY QUARTERLY
Summer 2001, Volume 47, Number 3
Gregg Hennessey, Editor
California Tower
Maurice Braun
American (born Hungary), 1877-1941
Oil on Canvas, 1915
Signed and dated LR: Maurice Braun, P.C. S.D. 1915
40 x 50 inches
Gift of the Thomas W. Sefton Trust
Lilacs and Mountains
Maurice Braun
American (born Hungary), 1877-1941
Colored pencil on Paper, 1920s
91/16 x 10 5/8 inches
Courtesy of Dr. Charlotte Braun White and Ernest Braun
California Coast
Maurice Braun
American (born Hungary), 1877-1941
Oil on Canvas, 1930s
Signed LR: Maurice Braun
Titled on the stretcher
20 x 24 inches
Courtesy of Dr. Charlotte Braun White and Ernest Braun
Rocks in a Stream
Maurice Braun
American (born Hungary), 1877-1941
Colored pencil on Paper, 1920s
Signed LR: Maurice Braun
9 3/16 x 12 1/4 inches
Courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. Arturo Valencia
Torrey Pines
Maurice Braun
American (born Hungary), 1877-1941
Oil on Canvas, 1930s
Signed LR: Maurice Braun
Titled on the stretcher
20 x 24 inches
Courtesy of Dr. Charlotte Braun White and Ernest Braun
Landscape with Tree
Maurice Braun
American (born Hungary), 1877-1941
Colored pencil on Paper, 1910s
Signed LL: Maurice Braun
9 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches
Courtesy of Dr. Charlotte Braun White and Ernest Braun
Landscape
Maurice Braun
American (born Hungary), 1877-1941 Oil on Canvas, circa 1915
Signed LR: Maurice Braun
12 x 18 1/8 inches
Gift of Mary Louise Lloyd, 82.46
Autumn Tints
Maurice Braun
American (born Hungary), 1877-1941
Oil on Canvas, circa 1919
Signed LL: Maurice Braun
Titled on exhibition label on reverse: “Maurice Braun/105 W 163rd St., New York/W.S. Budworth & Sons, New York/Autumn Tints/The Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington D.C./Eighth Exhibition Contemporary [Art]/American Oil Painting”
40 x 50 inches
Courtesy of The Sefton Collection, #4725
Landscape: North Island seen from Point Loma
Maurice Braun
American (born Hungary), 1877-1941
Oil on Canvas, early 1910s
Signed LL: Maurice Braun
22 1/8 x 26 inches Courtesy of The Sefton Collection, #4704
Point Loma Sunset
Maurice Braun
American (born Hungary), 1877-1941
Oil on Canvas, 1912
Signed LR: M. Braun
Dated LR beneath signature
12 x 26 inches
Courtesy of Estelle and Jim Milch
Mountains and Desert
Maurice Braun
American (born Hungary), 1877-1941
Oil on Canvas, late 1930s
Signed and dated LR: Maurice Braun, 1912
25 x 30 inches
Gift of Elizabeth L. Beeson in memory of her brother, William E. Beeson, 93.63.7
Seascape
Maurice Braun
American (born Hungary), 1877-1941
Oil on Canvas, circa 1928
Signed LR: Maurice Braun
20 x 24 inches
Anonymous Lender
Desert and Mountains
Maurice Braun
American (born Hungary), 1877-1941
Oil on Canvas
Signed LR: Maurice Braun
25 x 30 inches
Courtesy of Mr. and Mrs. David E. Porter
Braun, Maurice (1877-1941)
Landscape painter
Born in Nagy Bittse, Hungary on October 1, 1877. Braun immigrated with his family to the United States in 1881 and settle in New York City. He began drawing at age three and in his early teens was apprenticed to a jeweler. In 1897 he began a five-year study period at the National Academy of Design followed by one year with William M. Chase. He was an established portrait and figure painter in New York before moving to San Diego in 1910. After opening a studio on Point Loma, he founded the San Diego Academy of Art in 1912 and served as its director for many years. In 1915 he was a co-founder of the San Diego Art Guild and in 1929 co-founded Contemporary Artists in San Diego. Braun remained in San Diego except for the years 1922-24 when he maintained a studio in Silvermine, Connecticut. His Impressionist paintings of the southwest desert, Southern California hills, and High Sierra have brought him great national acclaim. At the end of his career he specialized in still lifes of flowers and oriental objets d’art. An ardent follower of Theosophy, their teachings of the unity of Nature and man is evident in his work. Braun died in San Diego on November 7, 1941. Member: San Diego Theosophical Society; Salmagundi Club (NY); Laguna Beach AA; San Diego FA Ass’n: California Art Club; Academy of Western Painters; San Diego Contemporary Artists. Exhibited: PPIE, 1915; LACMA, 1918, 1920 (solos); GGIE, 1939; NAD and Carnegie Institute annually, 1911-15; PAFA; AIC. Awards: Hallgarten prize, NAD, 1900; gold medals, Panama-California Exposition, San Diego, 1915-16; and others. Works held: San Diego Historical Society; San Diego Museum of Art; Bloomington (IL) AA: Houston Art Museum; Public Collections of Riverside and San Bernardino, CA; Phoenix Municipal Collection; LA Women’s Athletic Club; LACMA; Theosophy Center, Pasadena: LA Commercial Club; Laguna Beach Museum of Art; Wichita (KS) AA; San Antonio AA. Source: PPIE cat.; Fld; Ber; Ben; Sam; Impressionism, The California View; California Design, 1910; AAA 1919-33; WWAA 1936-41; PAP; SCA; AAW; So. California Artists, 1890-1940.
“The Artist Maurice Braun: Aesthetic and Philosophic Values” in this issue of the Journal
