GEORGE KENNEDY BRANDRIFF  (1880 - 1936)       Artist Images

Painter, muralist. Born on Feb. 13, 1890 in Millville, New Jersey.

After moving to Orange, CA in 1913, Brandriff worked as a piano salesman. Shortly after his arrival he enrolled at the USC College of Dentistry and in 1918 opened a dental office in Hemet, CA.

Without the benefit of formal training, he had been painting all his life. He later had a few art lessons from Anna Hills, Carl Oscar Borg, Jack Wilkinson Smith, and in 1928 abandoned dentistry to devote full-time to art. After building a studio-home in Laguna Beach, Brandriff taught painting (Orrin White was one of his pupils) and served as president of the local art association. His subject matter included beach scenes, marines, mountain landscapes, still lifes, and figures. Many of his paintings were of the sea and fishermen around the Newport Beach area. Stricken with cancer, his short career ended with his suicide on Aug. 14, 1936 in Laguna Beach.

Member: AAPL; Calif. Art Club; Laguna Beach AA (pres. 1934); Foundation of Western Art.

Exhibited: LA County Fair, 1927; Southby Salon (LA), 1927; Painters of the West (LA), 1928, 1929 (silver medal); Exposition Bldg (LA), 1928; Kanst Gallery (LA), 1929; Biltmore Salon (LA), 1929, 1930, 1933, 1936; Calif. State Fair, 1930 (2nd prize); Pasadena Art Institute, 1930, 1933, 1934; USC, 1933; Laguna Museum, 1989 (retrospective).

In: Orange Co. (CA) Museum; Phoenix Municipal Collection; USC; Irvine (CA) Museum; LACMA. Murals: Mt Vernon Jr. High School (LA); Jonathan Club (LA); Inglewood (CA) High School; Polytechnic High School (Venice, CA).


Source: Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940”