BENIAMINO BUFANO

BENNY AND ME – Beniamino Bufano Rediscovered

Beniamino Bufano, a delightful San Francisco sculptor, is represented all over the Bay area and widely elsewhere. His signature themes are St Francis, peace and stylized animals. I have had a forty year affection for Bufano’s works and a story to tell. I am in San Francisco this week and in a few spare hours have engaged in a journey of rediscovery. In this journey, I have asked several locals about their recognition of Bufano’s name and for information about the location of his work, including staff at City Lights Bookstore, the Beat Museum, and staff at locations where his works are on display. These people should know. But no one seems to have heard of this guy. Go on line, however, and there are loads of admirers and followers. Count me among them.

The San Francisco Maritime Museum was a great first stop. Below are two Bufanos that were there when I used visit the San Francisco Senior Center, located in the same building. Titled “Seal” and “Animal”, they give me as much pleasure now as forty years ago. 

Seal

 

Animal

Just a few blocks west is the Museo Italo Americano, which has a lot of Bufanos in its collection. Unfortunately, I missed last month’s exhibition of Bufano works. The single example in the permanent display of Bay Area Italian artists is “Elephant”, a simple and elegant piece.

 

Elephant

Many years ago, I read an article in Sunset Magazine featuring a collection of Bufano at the Hillsdale Shopping Center in San Mateo. So there I went next. I found a nice collection of Bufanos in wonderful condition. All housed indoors and beautifully maintained.

Red Cat 1956

 

Golden Bear 1956

 Seal 1956

Penguin and Two Babies 1956

Rabbit 1956

Black Cat

St Francis on Horseback

My next destination was Fremont, CA, across the Bay to the East. There, at the Kaiser Permanent Medical Center were two very nice Bufanos. The staff who I asked for directions had to call internally to find someone who knew where they were located. Both were outside, and showed the effects of exposure to the weather. They could use a good cleaning and polishing. And lastly, at the Berge-Pappas-Smith Mortuary, I found a very nice example of Bufano’s St Francis. All three were worth seeing.

Penguins 1937

 

Bear With Cubs 1937

 

St Francis

Here is the Benny and Me story. When I first started to travel to San Francisco and saw several Bufanos around the city, I found myself in a Powell Street art store that featured many Bufano pieces. After wiping my drool, I determined that I could hardly afford to walk in the door, let alone buy a Bufano. A sympathetic staff person, however, steered me to their stock of Bufano working models – small two or three inch cast models which might eventually become full size sculptures. I bargained for a small dog, which I don’t think ever made it to full size sculpture status. I was very poor at the time, so the gallery let me pay the $225 cost in monthly installments of $25. Nine months later, I owned my very own Bufano! But, alas, the story has a sad ending. About a year later, my Denver apartment was burgled, and my Bufano was taken. Never again to be seen by anyone who would appreciate it. I’m sure the thieves had no idea what they had taken and most likely it went to some child as a temporary plaything.

Absent my Bufano dog, I now take pleasure in a 1972 biography of the artist that I bought at the same time, and this journey of appreciation for this wonderful sculptor.

 I wish more people were aware of his great works. Personally, I have enjoyed my occasional viewing of his pieces with the same admiration that I get when I see a Henry Moore piece. You can see many, many Bufanos on public display around the Bay area. If you aren’t able to get to the San Francisco area, you can see lots of photos of Bufano pieces at this url: https://www.flickr.com/photos/rocor/albums/72157640687864433. Bufano died in 1970.

Update: Shortly after I posted this article, I obtained a rare copy of a pamphlet for Bufano's first exhibition in San Francisco, at the San Francisco Museum of Art, 1935. I am pleased to share with you the title page of this pamphlet, featuring an early sculplure of the artist's mother (about 1916).

Roger Doherty