Leonard Edmonson, 86; Printmaker and Painter Taught for 5 Decades
Leonard Edmonson, 86, a widely known printmaker of screen prints, etchings and lithographs, died Tuesday in Los Angeles.
A native of Sacramento, Edmonson studied art at UC Berkeley and earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees there.
He served in Army intelligence from 1942 to 1946 and traveled widely in Europe, where he was drawn to the work of the Old Masters and Paul Klee.
After the war, Edmonson began a five-decade teaching career. After a stint at Pasadena City College, he taught at Otis Art Institute and Cal State Los Angeles. He served as chair of the printmaking departments at both of the latter campuses.
Edmonson worked in a wide variety of media, including painting in oils, acrylics and watercolors, and drawing.
His first one-man museum exhibition was mounted at the De Young Museum in San Francisco in 1952. That was followed the next year by solo shows at the Pasadena Art Museum and the Santa Barbara Museum.
His book “Etching,” a compilation of his technical knowledge and teaching experiences, was published in 1973.
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