Biography

Jenne and Ethel Magafan were identical twins, born in Chicago of immigrant parents - their father a Greek and their mother a Pole. Owing to their father's ill health, the family relocated to Colorado. The twins attended Denver's East High School two years before Edward Chavez and studied with the legendary art teacher Helen Perry. The twins edited their High School Yearbook in 1933, as did Chavez in 1935. The overall look of these yearbooks must have been influenced by Perry, but one can see charming examples of early work by the teenage artists. As teenagers, they were in fact already entering artwork in local exhibitions. The Magafan sisters studied with Frank Mechau, first at the School of Modern Art in Denver and then at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, where their other instructors included Boardman Robinson and Peppino Mangravite. The sisters worked on murals with Mechau and later received commissions for their own work, usually separately but sometimes in collaboration. In all, there were 13 murals produced by the Magafans.

The sisters spent time in Los Angeles during World War II, making the acquaintance of artists Arnold Blanch, his wife Doris Lee, Fletcher Martin, and Herman Cherry. Following the War, both sisters relocated to Woodstock, NY at the urging of Blanch and Lee. Jenne had married Edward Chavez, and the couple traveled to Italy on a painting trip in 1951-1952. Returning to Woodstock, Jenne died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage, a tragedy from which her sister never fully recovered.

Critical Analysis

Jenne Magafan had solo exhibitions in Denver, Santa Barbara and New York. She also participated in group exhibitions in Colorado Springs, Denver, Chicago, Los Angeles and Claremont, CA. Jenne and Ethel were both strongly influenced by their time with Mechau, having learned the technique of mural production from him and having adopted his modernist stye and affinity for regional subjects. Jenne came to be regarded as one of the leading painters of the American Scene. Her interests had broadened by the time of her trip to Italy, which was a productive time for her, but, unfortunately, the final chapter in her artistic life.

Murals

• Glenwood Springs, Colorado - White River National Forest Headquarters: Decorative Map
• Washington, District of Columbia - Department of Health and Human Services: Mountains in the Snow
• Albion, Nebraska - Post Office: Winter in Nebraska
• Anson, Texas - Post Office: Cowboy Dance
• Helper, Utah - Post Office: Western Town

References

1. Jenne Magagan (Museum of Nebraska Art).
2. Jenne Magagan (National Gallery of Art).
3. Jenne Magagan (Smithsonian American Art Museum).
4. Magafan Sisters Biography Project (Magafan Sisters Biography Project).
5. Magafan, Ethel and Jenne (Encyclopedia.Com).