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9781793612137

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In Belle Baranceanu: Life, Art and the New Deal Renaissance, historian Jennifer Hernandez has created a sweeping new look at the role of art, religion, politics, gender equity and social norms in America through the life and art of Belle Baranceanu, a name unfamiliar to most Americans, yet one who deserves recognition as a prominent 20th century feminist artist. Belle’s story is an American story – from her Jewish family fleeing Eastern Europe – to settling in the American Midwest to finally heading west and Belle settling in San Diego – all in search of a better life and to practice her art and earn a living. Belle’s works speak of personal tragedy and triumph and how the larger forces of the Great Depression set America in a new direction. Hernandez writes eloquently with a style that non historians will find engaging and her scholarship provides new insights into this critical time in American Art and social history that raises important parallels between art and society then, and today. -- Bill Lawrence, San Diego History Center A mid-century female artist, Belle Baranceanu leveraged her Jewish immigrant background to produce socially conscious art at the start of America’s modernist movement. Her story helps us understand the importance of federal programs such as the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in advancing modern art during the 1930s. It also sheds light on the personal struggles faced by women in Southern California’s rapidly developing art scene. -- Molly McClain, University of San Diego

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Jennifer Peoples Hernandez teaches at San Diego Mesa College.

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