Amado Gonzalez Biography
Amado Gonzalez, a muralist, portrait and poster arts, was born in Guadalajara, Mexico in 1913. He immigrated to San Francisco in 1927 and studied at the California School of Fine Arts under the disciples of Siqueiros, Diego Rivera and Orozco. He began a long career as a muralist and portrait painter. His first one-person show was at the San Francisco Museum of Art in 1935. Many shows and awards followed. From 1934 to 1938 he worked though out California for the WPA as a muralist. After the Depression he painted murals for the San Francisco Commercial Club and the Bank of America. In the 1960’s he created a long series of ads for Bank of America depicting scenes in California history.  In the mid 1960’s the now defunct California Wine Advisory board commissioned him to create posters proclaiming the virtues of California wine.  Before his posters, California wine was held in low esteem and was considered jug wine.  But things changed quickly for California wine in the 1970’s and Gonzalez’s posters were important in “getting the word out”  about California wine.

Amado Gonzalez died in San Francisco in 2007.