Anton Refregier

Anton Refregier (March 20, 1905 – October 10, 1979) a painter and muralist active in Works Progress Administration Federal Art Project commissions, and in teaching art. He was a Russian immigrant to the United States.

He is known, among other works, for his mural "The History of California" located in the Rincon Center, in downtown San Francisco, California. It depicts the state's history across twenty seven panels that he painted from 1940 to 1948.

Refregier was born in Moscow and emigrated to the United States in 1920. After working various odd jobs in New York City, he earned a scholarship to the Rhode Island School of Design in 1921. After finishing school, Refregier moved back to New York in 1925. To earn a living, Refregier worked for interior decorators, creating replicas of François Boucher and Jean-Honoré Fragonard paintings. He continued his creative development, and traveled to Munich in 1927. While there he studied under painter Hans Hofmann, who was creating abstract expressionism paintings.

Refregier returned to New York state during the late 1920s, and lived in the Mount Airy artists' colony in Croton-on-Hudson. In an interview, Refregier referred to this time as the most wonderful period of his life, although it was a peculiar kind of wonderful. He was referring to the effects of the Great Depression in the 1930s. Refregier learned 'a lot about life' during these times, and also learned more about the United States economy and government.

Refregier found inspiration in the tragic events. He was quoted as saying that “the richer we [were] in possessions, the poorer we became in their enjoyment.” He said the amazing part of that period was the “human quality, the humanist attitude that [everyone] had” and the discovery that “the artist was not apart from the people.”

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