Jan Steward (January 2, 1929 – July 1, 2020), born Janis June England, was an American photographer, artist, graphic designer, and writer based in Los Angeles, California.

Early life

Janis June England was born in Missouri and raised in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

, the daughter of Sherman Alexander England and Pauline Marie Hoppes England. She attended John Marshall High School in

Los Feliz LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significanc ...

. As a young woman, she studied

koto Koto may refer to: * Koto (band), an Italian synth pop group * Koto (instrument), a Japanese musical instrument * Koto (kana), a ligature of two Japanese katakana * Koto (traditional clothing), a traditional dress made by Afro-Surinamese women * ...

with musician

Kimio Eto (surname Etō, born 1924 in Ōita – died 24 December 2012) was a blind Japanese musician who played the ''koto''. He began musical training at the age of eight with the renowned master Michio Miyagi. When he was eleven, he composed his firs ...

Little Tokyo Little Tokyo ( ja, リトル・トーキョー) also known as Little Tokyo Historic District, is an ethnically Japanese American district in downtown Los Angeles and the heart of the largest Japanese-American population in North America. It is t ...

. Beginning in 1958, she took night classes in art from Sister

Corita Kent Corita Kent (November 20, 1918 – September 18, 1986), born Frances Elizabeth Kent and also known as Sister Mary Corita Kent, was an American artist, designer and educator, and former religious sister. Key themes in her work included Christiani ...

Immaculate Heart College Immaculate Heart College was a private, Catholic college located in Los Angeles, California. The college offered various courses including art and religious education studies. By June 1906, six young women had become the first graduates of th ...

Career

Steward wrote a book with her mentor Corita Kent, ''Learning by Heart: Teachings to Free the Creative Spirit'' (1992, revised 2008), published after Kent's death. Steward's graphic design work included the logo for George Harrison's

Dark Horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, or a contestant that on paper should be unlikely to succeed but yet still might. Origin Th ...

record label, banners for the 1984 Summer Olympics, and a mural at the Lou Harrison House in

Joshua Tree ''Yucca brevifolia'' is a plant species belonging to the genus ''Yucca''. It is tree-like in habit, which is reflected in its common names: Joshua tree, yucca palm, tree yucca, and palm tree yucca. This monocotyledonous tree is native to the ar ...

in 2009. She photographed and made cover art for musicians including Harrison,

The Mother Hips The Mother Hips is an American rock band based in the San Francisco Bay Area. History Formation and debut Tim Bluhm (vocals/guitar), Greg Loiacono (guitar/vocals), Isaac Parsons (bass) and Mike Wofchuck (drums) met in 1990 while attendi ...

Hariprasad Chaurasia Hariprasad Chaurasia (born 1 July 1938) is an Indian music director and classical flautist, who plays the bansuri, in the Hindustani classical tradition. Early life Chaurasia was born in Allahabad (1938) (officially called Prayagraj) in the ...

Ravi Shankar Ravi Shankar (; born Robindro Shaunkor Chowdhury, sometimes spelled as Rabindra Shankar Chowdhury; 7 April 1920 – 11 December 2012) was an Indian sitarist and composer. A sitar virtuoso, he became the world's best-known export of North In ...

Lakshmi Shankar Lakshmi Shankar (née Sastri, 16 June 1926 – 30 December 2013) was an Indian singer and a noted Hindustani classical. Born into a south Indian Brahmin family, she became an outstanding Hindustani vocalist of the Patiala Gharana and married Raj ...

, and

Jitendra Abhisheki Ganesh Balawant Nawathe, better known as Pandit Jitendra Abhisheki (21 September 1929 – 7 November 1998), was an Indian vocalist, composer and scholar of Indian classical, semi-classical, and devotional music. While he distinguished himsel ...

, and sometimes accompanied them on recordings. She opened her home in Los Feliz for art exhibits and intimate concerts, and rented studio space to younger artists. In 1969, Steward spoke at the

Pasadena Art Museum The Norton Simon Museum is an art museum located in Pasadena, California, United States. It was previously known as the Pasadena Art Institute and the Pasadena Art Museum and displays numerous sculptures on its grounds. Overview The Norton Sim ...

about collecting Indian art. In 1970, she and another woman sponsored Indian artist Shanti Dave's sons Mayur and Amul to receive medical care in the United States.

Personal life

Janis England married Frank Herbert "Herb" Steward in 1951. They had two children, Sean and Tina. Herb Steward died in 1992. Jan Steward died in 2020, in

Van Nuys, California Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1909 ...

, aged 91 years. Her memorial service was held at the Senshin Buddhist Temple.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Steward, Jan 1929 births 2020 deaths People from Los Angeles American women artists Immaculate Heart College alumni 21st-century American women