Wedo Georgetti

Who was Wedo Georgetti?

Guido "Wedo" Georgetti was an American painter, etcher and lithographer. He was born in Marche, Italy, and came to the United States when he was one-year old. Wedo Georgetti spent many years travelling as a merchant seaman before he gained significant recognition as an artist. It is believed that he used experiences and images from his extensive travels as inspiration for his art. Although in the 1940s Georgetti was well known for his watercolor art and prints, Georgetti was blacklisted by the government during the McCarthy era. He was not convicted, but it shed a negative light on his art, making it harder for him to sell his works. Despite this, Georgetti kept on painting, giving his unsold works to his friends and family. Georgetti died at his home in Sausalito, California, on December 12, 2005.

Wedo showed his work in my gallery in 2000I believe he was ninety or so. I owned and operated the Sausalito gallery. The gallery was a rally point for local artists, Wedo and Cucaro, and Steve Sara, myself and others. Wedo and others would come over and dine and drink in front of the Venice deli with Charlie Hontalas who prepared lamb chops in the pizza oven in the parlor next to the deli. The work I featured was heavily influenced by Wedo's time as a merchant mariner. His portrayals of life on the docks and at sea were exquisite, hand colored, finely crafted etchings. He also did a series of works dealing with the labor/union unrest. Included in the show were half a dozen delicate figure works done in pen and ink. I often visited him in his studio on Casneau; beneath his little abode was a treasure trove of thousands of varied works of art. He was very prolific, experimenting with abstractions, figures and small sculptures. We often would sit and talk for several hours. His work was typical of the WPA era, meticulous as to proportion and perspective; exemplifying academic training yet infused with the freedom and aesthetic of a true artist.