Gemma Taccogna

Gemma Fane Taccogna (1923–2007) was an Italian-born American and Mexican visual artist and educator. She was known for her work in papier-mâché and ceramics, and as well as in painting. Her artwork became collector's items starting in the 1960s. She lived in Mexico City, Palos Verdes Estates, California, and Torrance, California for many years. Taccogna also went by the names Gemma Walker, Gemma Del Rio, and Gemma Sexton.

Early life and education Gemma Taccogna was born on May 9, 1923, in Bari, Apulia, Italy. She was the daughter of Giuseppe Taccogna and María Putingnano. She was around one year old when she moved with her family to Mount Vernon, New York. She graduated from Evander Childs High School in the Bronx.

Taccogna attended Cooper Union, and the Art Students League of New York. She studied under Marc Chagall, Eric Fromm, and William Zorach. Career

Mount Vernon, New York In 1945, she married her high school classmate, Claude Walker, who had been enrolled the United States Army during World War II. She was active in showing her work at the Mount Vernon Art Association, from the late 1940s until the early 1950s. In 1949, her painting "Springtime Still Life" won first place at the Mount Vernon Art Association. The studio, named Artes Gemma, had up to 60 employees. Peggy Guggenheim bought Gemma's art and exhibited it in her museum in Venice. Gemma's success gave the papier-mâché industry in Mexico a boost.

California and late life In the mid 1960s, Taccogna married the American artist Fred Sexton (1907–1991), after his divorce from artist Gwain Noot Sexton. The family moved to Palos Verdes, California in 1966. Taccogna separated from Sexton in 1968 because of allegations of pedophilia and sexual abuse. The couple divorced in 1969 in Los Angeles, California.

For the next decade she lived in various places in the United States, including Las Vegas, Long Beach, and Del Mar. Taccogna moved to a condo in Torrance, California in 1994,

Collectors of Taccogna's work included Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Mary Tyler Moore, Burt Lancaster, and Anna Sui.

Exhibitions Taccogna's works participated in temporary exhibitions in the following museums and art galleries:

Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, Italy Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City, Mexico Galería Antonio Souza, Mexico City, Mexico

Books