Signed lower right, 'W. Georgetti' for Wedo Georgetti (American, nd created circa 1950. Born in Italy, this notable California Post-Impressionist came to the United States at the age of one. Georgetti initially worked as a merchant seaman to support his art studies and, during this period, traveled all over the world accumulating sketches, many of which he later worked up into paintings. He made frequent visits to France, where he was influenced by the Post-Impressionists and, particularly, by the Nabis. An innovative theorist, Georgetti was the originator of the style known as California Fauvism. He exhibited widely and with success, both at exhibitions and at one-man shows (Oakland Art Gallery, 1942-44; Society of American Graphic Artists, NYC, 1944; Maxwell Galleries, 1940’s; de Young Museum, 1945; City of Paris, 1970, among others). He was the recipient of numerous medals and prizes and continued to paint and sculpt into his nineties. Reference: Who Was Who in American Art 00 Years of Artists in America, Peter Hastings Falk, Sound View Press 1999, Vol. 2, p. 1268; et al.