San Francisco Visual Creative Community 1945 to 1970
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Margaret De Patta
1903 – 1964
De Patta attended the Academy of Fine Arts in San Diego, California, the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco, and the Art Students League in New York. She studied metalsmithing with Armenian-born artisan Armin Hairenian and by 1935 had her own studio and was selling jewelry through a craft gallery in San Francisco. She attended Moholy-Nagy’s Institute of Design in Chicago ( 1940 – 41) and there met and married Eugene Bielawski. They returned to San Francisco where they began a limited production operation of her jewelry which was sold in many national outlets; In 1951 she and Bielawski moved to Napa, California and attempted to open a school based on the Bauhaus philosophy. This never materialized and in 1956 De Patta stopped manufacturing and returned to making one-of-a-kind pieces. She was one of the most recognized modern jewelers winning numerous local and national awards. She also helped to found the San Francisco Metal Arts Guild.
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