Ralph Chessé

Ralph Chessé was born in New Orleans in 1900 and attended the Art Institute of Chicago from 1918 to 1919, his only formal training. Inspired by his surroundings in New Orleans and the heritage of his family (his great-grandmother was African American, and the rest of his family of French descent), he created paintings in the 1940s that show African American subjects enacting biblical scenes and scenes from everyday life. After relocating to San Francisco in 1928, Chessé worked as an artist and puppeteer. The success of his television program, “The Wonderful World of Brother Buzz,” allowed him to travel extensively in Europe. The second group of paintings in this exhibition, most executed ca. 1970, indicates the impact of these travels both in subject matter and style—Chessé’s admiration of French Fauvism is especially clear. The exhibition included four of Chessé’s puppets and several linocuts showing varying interpretations of Punch and Judy.