Pele de Lappe

Phyllis de Lappe, also known as Pele de Lappe or Pele deLappe (1916–2007) was an American artist, known for her social realist paintings, prints, and drawings. She also worked as a journalist, newspaper editor, illustrator, and political cartoonist. de Lappe had been a resident for many years in Berkeley, California and later, Petaluma, California.

Early life and education She was born as Phyllis deLappe on May 4, 1916 in San Francisco, California and was the fourth-generation of her family born in San Franciscan.

She started her career as an artist at age 14, studying art at California School of Fine Arts (now San Francisco Art Institute) under Arnold Blanch. Two years later she continued education at Art Students League of New York, working with artists Edward Lansing, Kenneth Hayes Miller, John Sloan and Charles Locke. This was during Rivera's Rockefeller Center mural, Man at the Crossroads and de Lappe modeled and assisted on the mural.

In 1999, she published her autobiography, Pele: A Passionate Journey through Art and the Red Press.

Her artwork is in many public collections, including: National Gallery of Art, the Smithsonian Institution's National Portrait Gallery, Fine Art Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF),