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Claire Falkenstein

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Claire Falkenstein

American, (1908–1998)


Claire Falkenstein was born in Coos Bay, Oregon in 1908. In 1920, Falkenstein’s family moved to Oakland, California, where she graduated high school and went on to earn degrees in art, anthropology, and philosophy from the University of California, Berkeley in 1930. As a child in California, Falkenstein would sneak off to the beach in the early morning to watch the sunrise. It was through these ventures that Falkenstein was exposed to the forms of the seaweed, driftwood, shells, and rocks that would predominantly inspire her later artwork. After her graduation from Berkeley, Falkenstein took several teaching positions at Bay Area universities before moving to Paris in 1950.

Upon her return to Los Angeles in 1963, Falkenstein began taking many high-profile commissions for public art sculptures, murals, and fountains. These works would drive her career until her death in 1997.



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