Challis Walker
Encyclopedia
File:Challis_Walker_Calandria.jpg|Challis Walker Calandria - 1985
File:Sculptor Challis_Walker_Calandria - 1942.jpg|Challis Walker Calandria - 1942
Challis Walker Calandria (1912 - 2000) was an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sculptor and painter.
Calandria was educated in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. At the age of twelve she had her first instruction in sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
(outside of school) which caused her decision to enter art schools after high school graduation. She attended the Art Students League of New York
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...
for two years studying sculpture with William Zorach
William Zorach
William Zorach was a Lithuanian-born American sculptor, painter, printmaker, and writer. He won the Logan Medal of the arts.-Life and career:...
. Following this, she went to Paris in 1933 where she studied at the Académie Colarossi
Académie Colarossi
The Académie Colarossi is an art school founded by the Italian sculptor Filippo Colarossi. First located on the Île de la Cité, it moved in the 1870s to 10 rue de la Grande-Chaumière in the VIe arrondissement of Paris, France....
with Marcel Gimond
Marcel Gimond
Marcel Gimond was a French sculptor born in the Ardèche region of France.Gimond first studied at the Beaux-Arts Academy in Lyon and was the student in turn of both Aristide Maillol and Auguste Rodin. Gimond was an influential Professor at the Paris Beaux -Arts until 1960...
, sculptor. Her Paris studies stretched into a six-year period during which time one of her sculptures was shown at the Salon des Tuileries
Salon des Tuileries
The Salon des Tuileries was an annual art exhibition for painting and sculpture, created June 14, 1923, co-founded by painter Albert Besnard, sculptor Antoine Bourdelle, architect Auguste Perret, and others....
, and a book for children which she wrote and illustrated was accepted (translated into French) by a Paris publisher. It was also published by Coward McCann in New York City.
She met her future husband in Paris, Juan José Calandria
Juan José Calandria
- Biography :File:Juan_Jose_Calandria.jpg|Juan José Calandria - 1939File:Sculptor Juan_Jose_Calandria.jpg|Juan José Calandria - 1962Calandria was born in Canelones, Uruguay in 1902....
-- a highly esteemed sculptor -- who was later appointed Uruguayan Consul to New Orleans where they settled in 1941. In New Orleans Challis turned to painting and exhibited extensively in New Orleans and the southern states. Before going to New Orleans she held a successful one-woman show of sculpture at the Georgette Passedoit Galleries in New York City.
In juried shows she received many honors from the museums of New Orleans, Monroe, El Paso, Louisiana Art Commission and others. She held a one-man show at the Downtown Gallery and a two-man show with her husband at the New Orleans Museum of Art
New Orleans Museum of Art
The New Orleans Museum of Art is the oldest fine arts museum in the city of New Orleans. It is situated within City Park, a short distance from the intersection of Carrollton Avenue and Esplanade Avenue, and near the terminus of the "Canal Street - City Park" streetcar line...
and the Houston Museum. The above honors were awarded to her Kiln, Mississippi landscapes and still lives. Her portraits may be seen in the Civil, Federal and Supreme Court buildings in New Orleans, LSU auditorium, Tulane Law and Engineering Schools, Newman and Marion Abramson Schools in New Orleans, the New Orleans International Airport and others.
One of her most impressive public commissions is a portrait of Archbishop Philip M. Hannan of New Orleans, placed permanently in the ceiling of the St. Louis Cathedral, New Orleans
St. Louis Cathedral, New Orleans
Saint Louis Cathedral , also known as the Basilica of St. Louis, King of France, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans; it has the distinction of being the oldest continuously operating cathedral in the United States...
in the French Quarter.
Awards garnered by Challis Walker Calandria include a first prize in sculpture, Delgado Museum, 1945 and a host of numerous awards.
With talent vast and varied, Challis Walker Calandria was equally at home as a sculptor, portraitist, fine arts painter and teacher. She died in 2000.
http://www.askart.com/askart/artist.aspx?artist=10065618
This biography was submitted by the artist's son Andres Calandria