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ABOUT THE ARTIST:

The following bio is based on dozens of original personal documents, hand-written pages, old newspaper clippings and photographs belonging to Artist Samuel Shapiro, from the late 1930’s through Sam's lifetime. The facts of Sam’s life are confirmed in interviews with his son, Robert J. Shapiro.  

Samuel Shapiro (1921- 1999),  was born in Manhattan, New York. There were seven children. His family later moved to Brooklyn where Sam showed early interest in drawing and skill in handling tools. At this young age, Sam won a bronze medal in a Wane-maker Art Competition.  Sam attended Winthrop Junior High School where he received a Certificate of Attainment for taking an exploratory course in Trade Drawing and Fine Art, achieving "an excellent rating in workmanship and supplementary knowledge."  From 1936-1939 Sam majored in art at The Samuel J. Tilden High School where he also "attained the highest standing in his French class for the 2nd term". It was during his high school years that Sam made friends with David Berg, the comic strip artist for MAD Magazine. The two friends studied art together throughout their high school years. 

Of those times, Sam would later write: "The loss of my mother and earlier my father, made life difficult. I now lived with my two older brothers and younger sister. I worked at low paying jobs to help pay the bills. In 1940 I learned to operate a lathe and had my first job as a machinist apprentice.”  

With the outbreak of war in 1942, Sam enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force.  With technical training in military airplane mechanics, Sam earned his wings as a Flight Engineer.  At the height of WWII, Technical Sergeant Sam Shapiro was a highly skilled bomber pilot who served 2 tours of active duty during intense combat. During that time, Sam's drawings were published in the Stars & Stripes Newletter available for all enlisted men. 

Sam was not only a great artist; he was an excellent marksman who saw more than his share of active engagement with the enemy. In 1944, Samuel Shapiro was honored with the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal….  "For extraordinary achievement while serving as top turret gunner on numerous bombardment missions against enemy installations over German occupied Continental Europe. Sergeant Shapiro repelled numerous hostile fighter attacks by his excellent marksmanship, thereby assuring the safety of the crew and aircraft. The courage, presence of mind and devotion to duty while engaged in aerial combat on all these occasions are in keeping with the highest tradition of the United States Army Air Force. "  

Suffering years later from battle injuries, Sam hoped for assistance when he wrote a letter to the US Dept of Veterans Affairs: 

"....My military encounters were close calls with death. Prayers were common. My first aircraft was sabotaged and blew up over Tinker Field, Oklahoma. I was then sent to E.T.O. to join a squadron of B-17 Flying Fortresses. While crossing the ocean, my electric suit burned out and I came close to freezing to death. I revived two crewmen who were wounded by flack. I extinguished a cockpit fire saving the plane and the crew. A propeller backlash hit my head causing a loss of memory. That memory loss is still with me. I completed 24 missions. Since our battle losses were heavy, I was asked to do an additional tour. It was an honor to do so. On our 34th mission, my bomber was hit by flack over Caen, France. This was my final mission. The Lord brought the entire crew home."

Wounded and honorably discharged in 1945, Sam slowly returned to civilian life. In his memoirs Sam wrote  “...Looking for a start to study art I was accepted into Pratt Institute of Art in Brooklyn, New York.  After 3 years of schooling and studying under Alexander Kostellow (Bahause) & wife Rowena Reed...”, Sam graduated June 1, 1948.  

That same year, in 1948, Sam landed his first full-time art job as an automotive stylist for the Buick Division of General Motors in Detroit, Michigan. Sam moved to Michigan an enthusiastic company man, who noted his "work was mostly sketching new designs for future models." Sam was an auto stylist for Buick for nearly 4 years,  working in several medias, from beginning designs to full-size mock-up of cars finished in airbrush.  

Sam worked from 1952-1966 as an Industrial Designer and Technical Illustrator for well-known firms, including Bilt-Rite, Sundberg-Ferar, Harley-Earl and American Motors. For these companies Sam designed new or re-designed existing commercial and industrial products, everything from baby carriages to farm equipment: from sketches, to layouts, to final model presentation.

After many years as a seasoned professional in his field Sam was pleased when he finally qualified for and became a member of the Society of Industrial Designers: an organization held in high recognition among the top industrial designers in America.   

During his working career, Sam married his sweetheart Miriam (Mimi) Rosenberg and had three children. When work slowed in Detroit in the late1960’s, Sam moved his family from Michigan to Northern California, settling in Santa Clara. Sam worked as a Draftsman in the San Francisco Bay area for several more years before his health started failing.  Despite growing teenagers, financial worries and lingering health issues from the war, Sam used his art as a form of therapy.

Over the next 25 years, Samuel created some of his most beloved works: "Alien Shipwreck", "The Mermaid", "American Farm Porch" and "Ancient Battle Ships" - a three piece carved wood set. Sam produced hundreds of detailed sketches and drawings covering a wide range of subject matter: fantasy, funny stuff, family and faith. 

"My work was always kept private," said Sam in a Fall 1994 article Coping With Age  inside the JFS Reporter of Santa Clara County. This Jewish Family Services article includes a photo of Samuel Shapiro at age 73 in his art studio with his new friend Stanley Hauer.  Sam created in many art forms including wood carving, clay sculpting, oil painting and drawing. Sam had a passion for detail and a love for fantasy art. 

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