Imperial Valley Press

County Art Chairman Organizes Classes Under Noted Artist

Emil Bisttram, director of the Taos, New Mexico, School of Art, and distinguished artist, teacher, lecturer and designer, will be in the valley March and April to conduct art classes.

Mrs. R. S. Nelson of Brawley, art chairman for the Imperial County Federation of Women's clubs, is responsible for bringing Mr. Bisttram to the valley, planning these classes as a community project, enabling valley artists to obtain instruction from one of the most talented men of today.

Classes are being arranged in El Centro and in Brawley, and if there are a sufficient number interested in night classes, these also will be organized. The classes are open to all interested and will start March 2. All those wishing detailed information may obtain it from Mrs. Nelson, whose telephone is Brawley 8701-J-4.

Mr. Bisttram was born in Hungary and has now become an American citizen. He studied under Howard Giles and Jay Hambidge and taught at the New York school of Fine and Applied Art, the Master Institute of the Roerich Museum, New York City, and has lectured for clubs, schools and other educational institutions throughout the nation.

Wins Awards

He received the Guggenheim fellowship award for 1931-32 and awards at the Philadelphia and New York watercolor clubs, the Los Angeles watercolor show, the Pennsylvania Academy annual.

Recently Mr. Bisttram completed his mural for the main floor space in the new justice building in Washington, D. C., this award being won in competition with other artists as were his murals in the Taos county court house, the treasury art relief project for Roswell, New Mexico, courthouse, and the Ranger, Texas, post office.

He has exhibited from 1930-1940 in the following fairs: Venice International, Chicago centennial, San Diego, Texas Centennial, New York World's fair, San Francisco World's fair, Coronado Quarto centennial in Albuquerque and Santa Fe; the Solomon Guggenheim museum of Abstract art in New York city, as well as in important annual exhibitions and in several private and one-man shows throughout the country. His paintings are also to be found in the collections of several museums and private collectors.