Signed, lower left, 'W. Georgetti' for Wedo Georgetti (American, 1911-2005) and painted circa 1955. Additionally signed, lower center. Born in Italy, Wedo Georgetti came to the United States at the age of one. For many years, he worked as a merchant seaman to support his art studies and traveled all over the world accumulating sketches, many of which he would later work up into completed paintings. Georgetti made frequent visits to France, where he was influenced by the Post-Impressionists and, particularly, by the Nabis. An innovative art theorist, Georgetti was an originator of the style that came to be 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). The recipient of numerous medals, prizes and juried awards, he continued to paint and sculpt in his Sausalito studio well into his nineties. The artist is listed in all relevant art reference works including Who Was Who in American Art. Reference: Who Was Who in American Art 1564-1975: 400 Years of Artists in America, Peter Hastings Falk, Sound View Press 1999, Vol. 2, p. 1268; et al.