Rosa Lowinger
Encyclopedia
Rosa Lowinger is a noted Cuba
n-born American art conservator. She is also an author, most notably of the book "Tropicana Nights: The Life and Times of the Legendary Cuban Nightclub" and articles on modern art and architecture.
, receiving a bachelor of arts
in fine art
s and art history
in 1978. She received a master of arts
in art history and a certificate in art conservation from the New York University Institute of Fine Arts
in 1982.
, architecture
, museum collections
and public space
s. She has been in private practice since 1982, first in Philadelphia, then in Charleston, South Carolina
. In 1988, she founded Sculpture Conservation Studio in Los Angeles and served as its chief conservator and principal until 1998, when she sold the firm to concentrate more on writing.
In 2008 she was awarded the 2008-2009 Rome Prize
in Conservation from the American Academy in Rome
to research the history of vandalism against art and public space.
In that same year she parted ways with Sculpture Conservation Studio and formed Rosa Lowinger and Associates (RLA), a conservation firm with an international focus and offices in Miami and Los Angeles. RLA's clients include a wide range of public and private entities including the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority
Gold Line to Pasadena
, the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts
, Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
, the Lowe Art Museum
at the University of Miami
, The Huntington Library
in San Marino, California, the Frost Art Museum
at the Florida International University
and the cities of Los Angeles, Miami, Miami Beach
, Coral Gables, Santa Monica
, Santa Fe Springs, Inglewood
, and Honolulu.
In the aftermath of the 2010 Haitian earthquake
, Lowinger and paintings conservator Viviana Dominguez were hired by the Smithsonian Institution
and Haiti
Cultural Recovery Center to remove the three remaining murals of the collapsed Cathedral of Sainte Trinité
in Port-au-Prince
. These murals included the Last Supper
mural
s by Philome Obin
, the Procession to Cana by Préfète Duffaut
and the Baptism of Christ by Castera Bazile
.
As a writer, Lowinger's most notable achievement is "Tropicana Nights: The Life and Times of the Legendary Cuban Nightclub", a non-fiction account of Cuba's celebrated 1950s nightclub. Published in 2005, and co-authored by Ofelia Fox
, widow of Tropicana's owner Martin Fox, Tropicana Nights is considered the definitive book on Havana's nightlife in the pre-Castro era and the source of much original material used in other books about the period. Lowinger's research on the Mafia's involvement in Havana's casinos has led to her being a lead source in The History Channel
's Declassified
:Godfathers of Havana. Lowinger is also author "The Encanto File", a play about blackmail in Miami that was produced at the Judith Anderson Theater by the Women's Project and Productions and numerous articles on contemporary Cuban art.
Lowinger is an associate editor of the University of Pennsylvania
's architectural conservation academic journal
"Change Over Time" and writes under the pseudonym of The Art Nurse on art blog
c-monster.net's conservation question and answer section.
She also reviews books for the web magazine Truthdig.com
.
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n-born American art conservator. She is also an author, most notably of the book "Tropicana Nights: The Life and Times of the Legendary Cuban Nightclub" and articles on modern art and architecture.
Education
Lowinger is an alumnus of Brandeis UniversityBrandeis University
Brandeis University is an American private research university with a liberal arts focus. It is located in the southwestern corner of Waltham, Massachusetts, nine miles west of Boston. The University has an enrollment of approximately 3,200 undergraduate and 2,100 graduate students. In 2011, it...
, receiving a bachelor of arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in fine art
Fine art
Fine art or the fine arts encompass art forms developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term "art gallery"....
s and art history
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
in 1978. She received a master of arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in art history and a certificate in art conservation from the New York University Institute of Fine Arts
New York University Institute of Fine Arts
The Institute of Fine Arts is one of the 14 divisions of New York University . It offers a Master of Arts and a Doctor of Philosophy, the Advanced Certificate in Conservation of Works of Art, and the Certificate in Curatorial Studies...
in 1982.
Career
Lowinger is considered a leader in the field of conservation of built heritage, a subject which includes artArt
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
, museum collections
Collection (museum)
A museum is distinguished by a collection of often unique objects that forms the core of its activities for exhibitions, education, research, etc. This differentiates it from an archive or library, where the contents may be more paper-based, replaceable and less exhibition oriented...
and public space
Public space
A public space is a social space such as a town square that is open and accessible to all, regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, age or socio-economic level. One of the earliest examples of public spaces are commons. For example, no fees or paid tickets are required for entry, nor are the entrants...
s. She has been in private practice since 1982, first in Philadelphia, then in Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
. In 1988, she founded Sculpture Conservation Studio in Los Angeles and served as its chief conservator and principal until 1998, when she sold the firm to concentrate more on writing.
In 2008 she was awarded the 2008-2009 Rome Prize
Rome Prize
The Rome Prize is an American award made annually by the American Academy in Rome, through a national competition, to 15 emerging artists and to 15 scholars The Rome Prize is an American award made annually by the American Academy in Rome, through a national competition, to 15 emerging artists...
in Conservation from the American Academy in Rome
American Academy in Rome
The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo in Rome.- History :In 1893, a group of American architects, painters and sculptors met regularly while planning the fine arts section of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition...
to research the history of vandalism against art and public space.
In that same year she parted ways with Sculpture Conservation Studio and formed Rosa Lowinger and Associates (RLA), a conservation firm with an international focus and offices in Miami and Los Angeles. RLA's clients include a wide range of public and private entities including the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority
Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority
The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority was a public agency formed in 1951. Its original mandate was to do a feasibility study for a monorail line which would have connected Long Beach with the Panorama City district in the San Fernando Valley via Downtown Los Angeles.The agency's powers...
Gold Line to Pasadena
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
, the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts
Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts
The Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts was established by the Hawaii State Legislature in 1965 to “promote, perpetuate, preserve, and encourage culture and the arts, history and the humanities as central to the quality of life of the people of Hawaii”...
, Vizcaya Museum and Gardens
Villa Vizcaya
Vizcaya, now named the Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, is the former villa and estate of businessman James Deering, of the Deering McCormick-International Harvester fortune, on Biscayne Bay in the present day Coconut Grove neighborhood of Miami, Florida...
, the Lowe Art Museum
Lowe Art Museum
The Lowe Art Museum is an art museum located in Coral Gables, Florida, a Miami suburb in Miami-Dade County. The museum is run and operated by the University of Miami and opened in 1950. The museum has an extensive collection of art with permanent collections in Greco-Roman antiquities, Renaissance,...
at the University of Miami
University of Miami
The University of Miami is a private, non-sectarian university founded in 1925 with its main campus in Coral Gables, Florida, a medical campus in Miami city proper at Civic Center, and an oceanographic research facility on Virginia Key., the university currently enrolls 15,629 students in 12...
, The Huntington Library
The Huntington Library
The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens is an educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington in San Marino, in the San Rafael Hills near Pasadena, California in the United States...
in San Marino, California, the Frost Art Museum
Frost Art Museum
The Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum or simply known as the Frost Art Museum is a Florida International University museum located on-campus in Modesto A. Maidique in Miami, Florida....
at the Florida International University
Florida International University
Florida International University is an American public research university in metropolitan Miami, Florida, in the United States, with its main campus in University Park...
and the cities of Los Angeles, Miami, Miami Beach
Miami Beach, Florida
Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on a barrier island between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter which separates the Beach from Miami city proper...
, Coral Gables, Santa Monica
Monica
Monica may refer to:*Monica , R&B singer and actress*Monica , the given name Monica*Saint Monica*Monica *Monica *Monica *Monica tail warning radar*Monicagate, a term for the Monica Lewinsky scandal...
, Santa Fe Springs, Inglewood
Inglewood, California
Inglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, southwest of downtown Los Angeles. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. Its population stood at 109,673 as of the 2010 Census...
, and Honolulu.
In the aftermath of the 2010 Haitian earthquake
2010 Haiti earthquake
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake, with an epicentre near the town of Léogâne, approximately west of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. The earthquake occurred at 16:53 local time on Tuesday, 12 January 2010.By 24 January, at least 52 aftershocks...
, Lowinger and paintings conservator Viviana Dominguez were hired by the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
and Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
Cultural Recovery Center to remove the three remaining murals of the collapsed Cathedral of Sainte Trinité
Holy Trinity Cathedral, Port-au-Prince
The Holy Trinity Cathedral, Port-au-Prince is the main cathedral within the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti. The present Holy Trinity Cathedral is located in downtown Port-au-Prince at the corner of Ave. Mgr. Guilloux & Rue Pavée...
in Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince is the capital and largest city of the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The city's population was 704,776 as of the 2003 census, and was officially estimated to have reached 897,859 in 2009....
. These murals included the Last Supper
Last Supper in Christian art
The Last Supper of Jesus and the Twelve Apostles has been a popular subject in Christian art, often as part of a cycle showing the Life of Christ. Depictions of the Last Supper in Christian art date back to early Christianity and can be seen in the Catacombs of Rome.The Last Supper was depicted...
mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
s by Philome Obin
Philome obin
Philomé Obin was a Haitian painter. He was arguably the greatest of all Haitian artists - his main rival for that accolade is fellow painter Hector Hyppolite....
, the Procession to Cana by Préfète Duffaut
Préfète Duffaut
Préfète Duffaut is a Haitian painter. Born near Jacmel , where he lives and works, The painter Pauleus Vital was Duffaut's half-brother, the painter Jean Charles Duffaut is his son...
and the Baptism of Christ by Castera Bazile
Castera Bazile
Castera Bazile was a Haitian painter. Born in Jacmel, Bazile painted several murals in the Holy Trinity Cathedral in Port-au-Prince. He won the grand prize at the Caribbean International Competition in 1955.-References:...
.
As a writer, Lowinger's most notable achievement is "Tropicana Nights: The Life and Times of the Legendary Cuban Nightclub", a non-fiction account of Cuba's celebrated 1950s nightclub. Published in 2005, and co-authored by Ofelia Fox
Ofelia Fox
Ofelia Fox , born Ofelia Suárez in Havana, Cuba, was a poet, lecturer and radio personality whose life as the wife of a Havana nightclub owner was chronicled in the book Tropicana Nights: the Life and Times of the Legendary Cuban Nightclub. .Ofelia Suárez grew up in Cuba with three siblings...
, widow of Tropicana's owner Martin Fox, Tropicana Nights is considered the definitive book on Havana's nightlife in the pre-Castro era and the source of much original material used in other books about the period. Lowinger's research on the Mafia's involvement in Havana's casinos has led to her being a lead source in The History Channel
The History Channel
History, formerly known as The History Channel, is an American-based international satellite and cable TV channel that broadcasts a variety of reality shows and documentary programs including those of fictional and non-fictional historical content, together with speculation about the future.-...
's Declassified
Declassified
Declassified is an American television series produced by Ten Worlds Productions on The History Channel that originally aired on November 9, 2004. The series takes viewers inside vaults and archives around the world to reveal the untold stories of modern history...
:Godfathers of Havana. Lowinger is also author "The Encanto File", a play about blackmail in Miami that was produced at the Judith Anderson Theater by the Women's Project and Productions and numerous articles on contemporary Cuban art.
Lowinger is an associate editor of the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
's architectural conservation academic journal
Academic journal
An academic journal is a peer-reviewed periodical in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as forums for the introduction and presentation for scrutiny of new research, and the critique of existing research...
"Change Over Time" and writes under the pseudonym of The Art Nurse on art blog
Art blog
An art blog is a common type of blog that comments on art. More recently, as with other types of blogs, some art blogs have taken on 'web 2.0' social networking features...
c-monster.net's conservation question and answer section.
She also reviews books for the web magazine Truthdig.com
Truthdig
Truthdig is a Web magazine that provides a mix of long-form articles, interviews, and blog-like commentary on current events, delivered from a progressive point of view. The site is built around major "digs" led by authorities in their fields who write multifaceted pieces about contemporary, often...
.
Honors
- 2008 - Rome Prize in Conservation from the American Academy in Rome 2008-2009 to research the history of vandalism against art and public space.
- 2008 - Los Angeles Conservancy Preservation Award for Conservation of History of Transportation, a 240-foot petrachrome WPA mural by Helen LundebergHelen LundebergHelen Lundeberg was an American Post-Surrealist, hard-edge painter.Lundeberg was born in Chicago. She married California artist Lorser Feitelson, her former teacher...
in Inglewood, California - 2005 - Amistad Foundation, Cross-cultural understanding award for "Tropicana Nights: The Life and Times of the Legendary Cuban Nightclub"
- 2001 - Los Angeles Conservancy Preservation Award for Conservation of Vanishing Race, a 1930 cast-stone Works Progress AdministrationWorks Progress AdministrationThe Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
sculpture - 2000 - Getty Preserve L.A. Award For Assessment of damage to History of Transportation, mural
- 1998 - California Preservation Foundation for conservation of Portal of the Folded Wings, 1926 cast stone and ceramic tile aviation monument in Burbank, CaliforniaBurbank, CaliforniaBurbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
- 1997 - Los Angeles Conservancy Preservation Award For conservation of Portal of the Folded Wings