Posted by Cathy Gowdy on Friday, December 19, 2008 at 04:55:48 :
Independent Journal
Tuesday, March 19, 1985
Section B, page 4
Art restorer William Torrance
A Quaker memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at the YWCA building in Santa Cruz for William Torrance, who has operated Torrance Galleries in San Anselmo for 32 years until retiring in 1982.
Mr. Torrance, 84, died Friday in Santa Cruz, where he had been living recently.
In addition to being a skilled and highly respected art restorer, Mr. Torrance was a well-known artist and a member of the Marin Society of Artists and the Society of Western Artists.
Mr. Torrance was born in Chicago and grew up in Billings, Mont., and New York. He studied fine arts and architecture at Columbia University and then graduated from the Beaux Arts School of Design in New York. He also attended the Pennsylvania Academy School of Fine Arts.
He had hoped for a career in architecture, but this seemed impractical during the Depression years and Mr. Torrance instead went to work as a commercial artist for Standard Oil Co. In San Francisco.
A California resident since 1930, he lived in Fairfax for 50 years. In 1950 he left Standard Oil and opened the first privately owned art gallery in Marin County.
He built the Torrance Building on Greenfield Avenue in San Anselmo and later expanded his business to include art supplies, framing and art restoration.
He was an authority on and collector of early California paintings.
During his career, Mr. Torrance was able at times to pleasantly surprise customers by finding that their paintings were valuable old ones rather that the worthless art the owners had thought.
When he retired, his grandson, Mark van Gelder, took over the business.
Mr. Torrance is survived by his wife, Opal, retired longtime nurse in the San Anselmo School District; his son, William Torrance Jr. of San Anselmo; his stepdaughter, Betty Jo van Gelder of San Rafael; four grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
The family prefers memorial contributions to the American Heart Association or to a charity of the donor’s choice.
|
powered by SpudBoard |