Alphonse Sondag 1873-1971

Painter, muralist, sculptor. Born in Paris, France on Dec. 18, 1873. Sondag came to San Francisco when he was a child and grew up there. At age 17 he returned to Paris to study at Ecole des Beaux Arts for three years followed by a year in Spain on a scholarship. Returning to San Francisco in 1896, he continued his studies at the Mark Hopkins Institute. At the turn of the century he lived in Honolulu for a few years where he painted many scenes of the islands. Sondag had a studio in San Francisco before serving in WWI. He returned with paintings of many noted military figures and landscapes of French and Belgian villages. In the post-war years he was an active member of the San Francisco art colony. For a few years he wasstaff artist for the NaVI Park Service. His four large murals of historical events of California attracted much attention at the GGIE in 1939. In that year he and his family moved to a ranch in Kenwood, Sonoma County, where he continued painting the subjects for which he is best known: missions, adobes, the Mother Lode country and other historical spots in northern California. Equally facile with both oil and watercolor, he continued painting until his death in Santa Rosa, CA on Feb. 3, 1971.

Exh: Mechanics’ Inst. (SF), 1891; Oakland Art Gallery, 1932; San Francisco Art Association, 1932; Sonoma County Library (Santa Rosa), 1976 (memorial). In: State Museum Resource Center (Sacramento); Society of Calif. Pioneers; Oakland Museum; San Rafael Mission; Mendocino County Museum (Willits); CSL; Sonora Chamber of Commerce; Courthouses of Eureka, Ukiah, and San Rafael; Shell Oil (Salt Lake City). Invw; CA&A; Santa Rosa Democrat, 9-19-1948.