hello, welcome to mosaic. today, we're going to travel through the world of art through the eyes of joe savaroli. he's an author and artist. we'll talk about his grandfather. his grandfather's work is significant in the bay area.

also, teri burner is the museum curator. welcome to both of you. joe, you're from new york. you're the out of towner here, the tourist. teri is from sanrosel. >> you mentioned tourist, but when i come to the area, i feel like i'm at home, some of my roots are here. >> so many roots are here. let's talk about that a little bit. tell us a little bit of history of your grandfather? >> he was born in rome in 1881, his mother passed away when he was 11, his father put him in a home for orphaned boys or boys that had one parent. it was that that he learned how

to paint and sculpt. he had a good background for eight years there. >> was it a school for fine arts? >> they taught fine arts, including music. over the centuries, they produced quite a few well known artists and musicians. >> did he stay in rome? >> he worked for a while on the dome of the cathedral in italy. it's the fourth largest. he worked side by side with micardi. this is like on your back, high up in the air thing? >> in this case, part of it was, they were doing the walls as well there. it's covered with murals. it's a real skill to be able to

do large scale murals. that's one thing he learned. >> how did he get to the states? >> he won a contest. actually, the contest, well, one of the prizes was to travel to mexico to restore churches. >> i thought you were going to say, he went to disneyland! >> well, eventually. he stayed in mexico for seven years. he was in mexico city and he worked in mexico city. >> that's where he met your grandmother? >> no, they brought him north to a town called chihuahua and he met her there. >> and eventually into southern california. >> well, he had to flee during the mexican revolution. he had to leave because he was a foreigner and he had to leave

with his wife and baby daughter and who also became an artist. >> he came to los angeles? >> no, to san francisco to work on the pan pacific exhibit in 1915. he worked at the pan pacific exhibition for a year and he did many beautiful paintings for the california building at the exposition. >> we're going to see some of the paintings in a bit here after the break. >> basically, this is the station at center for mission, correct? >> that's one of the things we'll see. then, we'll talk about some paintings that he did for the pan pacific exposition? >> yes, and then, saints peter and paul. >> so, we're going to take a short break and we'll be coming

back with more and this time, we'll bring pictures. ♪ ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] your glass of tap water can go farther than you think. just $1 for tap water can help unicef provide

clean, safe water for 40 kids in need. ♪ how old was he when this picture was taken? >> this was in about 1949. he was working on the church of saint's peter and paul. >> you've been tracing his works and you found about 250 of them? >> we've identified about 250 of them including the ones that were lost over the years. >> well, this is george westleck. we welcome you to mosaic. we're continuing our conversation with joe and teri about the works of hector

serboroli. we'll look at a few of the art works. mainly, these are the stations of the cross at mission san rafel. teri, can you give us a setting on that? you know, how old the mission is and kind of how he got involved there? >> well, i know that joe obviously knows a little bit more of the journey. we have the stations of the cross inside the paris churches. a generous donation was made to have them restored and conserved by the web family. that's where this comes from. >> when did he do this? >> around 1920. it was when the main paris church after the prior church had been burned to the ground.

this one, we're looking at the stations now. these were commissioned for him to be painted and paid for by julia babcock. she financed the 14 stations. >> and this is the taking of jesus? >> no, this is the entombment. i believe that's 14, the last of the stations. >> so what in particular, what style did your grandfather use? >> it was a classical style he learned in rome in the 1890s. he could do a painting of any type and any style, which he's proven over the years. what we're seeing now is station number one. that's the condemnation of christ by ponchus pilot. >> and this one? >> looks like -- [ indiscernible ]

>> the stripping of the garments. that's also in its setting in the church of saint raphael. he was especially good with figure? >> absolutely, he was well trained in depicting the body which is very, very difficult. his specialty was portraits, but he knew the human anatomy well. did he do portraits? >> when he worked in hollywood, he did portraits of the great actresses. there are several he did. >> this was early, about 1930. he remembered her as being a

nice young lady who came by. i think we'll have a picture of shirley temple come up, too. >> that was from "heidi." >> when was that movie? >> 1938 or 39. i believe it was '38. >> you know, she had her home here for many years in the bay area. >> i would love to speak with her, we're looking for paintings. >> he had a varied career. where were you in hollywood? >> i was agleam in my dad's eye. >> you didn't get to see any of the glamour? >> no, but growing up, i heard the stories. my dad grew up in hollywood and worked at some of the studios with my grandfather. i always heard the stories.

>> was he an artist? he was an opera singer. my grandfather went to the hurst castle on the interior. if you go there, you can see some of his works. >> i've never been, but i hear it's amazing. >> yeah, and i've been to the sites. >> what type of themes were used? >> well, he wanted the castle in a spanish style, but he had an entrance with a mosaic floor. he wanted the murals to fit with the style. and my grandfather also did the designs on the ceilings as well. he did a bit of work over four years time. then, he was drawn to hollywood

through a connection with della rogers, the reporter for hurst. that was what allowed him to support his family during the depression. >> that was a good place to be during the depression, i would imagine. we'll come back with more tales of the fantastic journey that joe's grandfather took in the art world in california.

welcome back, today, we have teri browner and joe sebaroli. we're talking about the art work of hector, he had a varied

career and had spent a lot of time here in hollywood. he seems to have gotten out of hollywood with his catholic faith intact. i think that's an amazing sort of thing. i'm not sure if you could do that today. what were his connections today in hollywood and in los angeles. you mentioned the archbishopkantwell? >> as he was with drawing from the work in hollywood, he was doing more work for the catholic church. >> and now, we have a picture here. that's the archbishop. >> he was the highest ranking figure in the west at the time. california didn't have a cardinal at the time. that's tim manning. we knew him when he was just a

priest. >> he became cardinal? >> yes, the second after mcintyre. the backdrop is the alter mural that my grandfather did at his residence. the scene your sent the picture to my grandfather and with compliments, of course, mentioned what a lovely mural it was in the background. it was done in the romanesque style. >> and from there, the work from catholics became his life work. >> he did many churches in los angeles. at one point in time, they needed the church in san francisco to be done. >> i see. >> the churches of st. peter and paul were around, but they

didn't have the finances to do the interior. there was a priest, father costanza who did the decorations from the church. >> and this is a most beautiful church. i think it's one of the most beautiful churches in san francisco. we have many. this is in the middle of the north beach section. >> it was joe dimaggio's parrish. >> yes, and the aliotto family is buried in this church. this is his work now? >> he was helped by my aunt who was also an artist. they worked on this together for a number of years. >> that's beautiful. that's almost dangerous work, right? >> yes, and he had his first

heart attack climbing climbing the scaffold while. --- he had his first heart attack climbing the scaffold. my aunt finished it after he passed away. i was pleased the visit the church with my younger daughter, elise. we had a spectacular time. >> it must be wonderful for you to see that. >> yes. >> it's a very beautiful church. i know that many of the audience today, if they haven't seen it, they should. it's a gem in san francisco and one of the most beautiful churches in california. >> so, that was near the end. didn't, well, now, was he also working on other projects at the same time?

>> well, yes, he was working on the seminary in camario, california. the alter backdrops and the seminary were done by him and the archbishop's residence was done by him. >> he kept very, very busy? >> yes. >> and it sounds like he had physical problems at that time? >> yes, heart problems and he was pushing himself. he accomplished a lot. >> during that time, that particular time when he was working on saint peter and paul's where did he live? >> there was a hotel, i think it was the hotel gallelalio. i found a receipt, he was paying $2 a night. not that that was a bad hotel.

but that could have bought a lot more. >> could you imagine about what that would be now? that would be about 20 seconds worth. he was a part of that culture. >> no question. >> and as i mentioned, and he and father costanza got along well. they corresponded in italian as well. >> was your grandmother here at that time. >> she was always in los angeles during the time. >> they had one of the marriages where you had to travel? >> yes, very little. accept for the last stage of his life. he was always with my aunt, his daughter. and so they always worked together. great. well, that's good.

we'll talk more about this kind of art in the next segment and we're going to try and ask you to help us find some of this art. some of this is missing. so we'll see you in a few moments, after the break. and 30. oh! (bell dings) yo. hey, alyson. what's going on? working on my free throws. just sunk 30 straight. 30? that's not possible. maybe not possible for you, but i've been practicing.

step back and gimme the rock. okay. mm-hmm. (bell dings) nice. 1. (bell dings) 2. (bell dinging) 11. whew. (buzzer blares) unh. you know, it's harder when people are watching. hey, you know, 11's not that bad. all you need are a few pointers. thank you. are you a free throw expert? well, no, not really. but i do know excellent teamwork when i see it. you know, it's so much easier to get active and live healthier when your friends are there to motivate you with a little friendly competition. now let's get this game started. ready? ready? oh, she's going for the hook shot. hook shoot! oh! oh! that's what i'm talking about. (first lady michelle obama) america... (all) let's get healthy together.

welcome back, we're talking about art work here in the bay area. we're talking to joe and teri. joe's grandfather did the art and teri's the museum curator at san rosel. i understand we talked earlier about the stations of the cross

that he did. there's a story about two of them that have gone missing, correct? >> seven years ago, when i was hired as the museum curator, i noticed in the interior in the church that two looked quite different. stations 4 and 11 are very different. i asked around the pair rick, had anyone seen the other stations that i was curious about. it was told to me that 4 and 11 were taken out. there was significant water damage to the stations and that, in fact, they were taken away. they were either restored or thrown out. >> oh, my. >> the replacements are in there. i've taken them out. the copies on the back had a date from 1996 and a name we have a hard time discerning.

>> so around 1996, someone took out the pictures, they needed help. >> yeah, they needed to be cleaned. and they've been long gone since about '96. >> they're signed in the corner. so, this is something for the audience to get involved with here. i presume this is going to be somewhere in the area. >> i imagine it would be a parishioner. we're not sure who took the pictures. >> well, let's start investigating and if any of you can help out there, give us a call. that would be wonderful, okay? >> and we have other art work missing? >> yeah, when my grandfather worked on the pan pacific exposition in 1915, his works were in the pavilion and he did a number of beautiful paintings.

one of the paintings, the baptizing is at san rapheal. this is a companion called the landing of sir francis drake at drake's bay. this is also done in a demi loom form. it was sold off and we don't know where it is. we had leads there was one similar at a high school in mill valley. this one's never turned up. >> yeah. >> well, okay, if anyone knows anything about these missing art works, how about if we get a number from you, teri. >> yeah, (415)454-8141. i'm at extension 12, like the apostles. >> just in case you forget.

>> if anyone has any knowledge about these amazing works that we would like to recapture, if you will, and preserve for the public, we would love to hear from you. this is a fascinating discussion about the work of serboroli. he had a varied career and he spent a good deal of his time and treasure and life making art. we've been pleased to have his grandson, joe with us and teri, the curator at the mission. again, if you know anything at all about some of the missing paintings, give a call to teri at the museum or at the

parrish. 454-8141. >> thank you so much. >> and thank you for having us on the show and i would like to thank teri for the wonderful work she does. thanks to her, she's taken care of the treasured art work. very good. >> thank you very much, have a pleasant day. go to college.

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