Frederick Alexander Pawla, (September 6, 1876 – December 18, 1964) a painter and muralist, was born in Wimbledon, England on September 6, 1876. He came to the United States as a boy and at 14 enlisted in the Navy and retired following World War I. He studied art in Europe and was active in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

before moving to Santa Barbara,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

in the 1920s. He exhibited locally and maintained a home there through the 1940s. Pawla is well known for his public murals in California, including a 1929 commissioned by the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

for Burlingame High School in California. In 1931, Pawla returned to New York to pursue further commissions. Pawla was mostly active as an artist in California, but he also spent time in Australia and was a member of the Royal Art Society in New South Wales. Pawla lived out the last years of his life as a resident of

Monterey Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a population of 30,218 in the 2020 census. The city was fou ...

, California before his death at

Fort Ord Fort Ord is a former United States Army post on Monterey Bay on the Pacific Ocean coast in California, which closed in 1994 due to Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) action. Most of the fort's land now makes up the Fort Ord National Monument, ...

, California on December 18, 1964. Pawla's most recognizable work is "Sailboat, Santa Barbara", which has been widely reproduced. His work includes marines, coastal scenes, and landscapes. Member: Royal Art Society (New South Wales); Santa Barbara Art Ass'n; San Diego Artists Society; Santa Cruz Arts League.

Exhibits

Santa Cruz Art League, 1929; Golden Gate International Expo, 1939. Murals: Burlingame (CA) High School; Dept. of Public Markets (NYC); Rainbow Room, Rockefeller Center (New York City); War Dept (Washington, DC); Cloister Hotel (Sea Island, GA); Surfside Hotel (Miami Beach).

References

19th-century American painters 19th-century American male artists American male painters 20th-century American painters United States Navy personnel of World War I 1876 births 1964 deaths 20th-century American male artists British emigrants to the United States Artists from the London Borough of Merton People from Wimbledon, London {{US-painter-stub