# Guillermo Wagner Granizo

Guillermo "Bill" Wagner Granizo (né William Joseph Wagner; March 11, 1923 – November 1995) is an American artist, known for his brightly colored ceramic tile murals which often featured historical or autobiographical references. He was active in Northern California from 1960 to 1995, and lived in San Francisco, Ben Lomond, San Jose, and Benicia.

## Early life and education

Guillermo Wagner Granizo was named William Joseph Wagner at birth, he was born in San Francisco, California on March 11, 1923. His mother Dora Granizo was Nicaraguan, and his father Joseph Wagner was of German descent and from the East Coast. Granizo lived in Guatemala and Nicaragua for eleven years in childhood. Upon returning to San Francisco he attended St. Dominic’s School in the Western Addition neighborhood, and High School of Commerce.
He served in the United States Army during World War II and was injured on Utah Beach during D-Day. After the war, Granizo attended San Francisco College of Art (later known as San Francisco Art Institute) for a year, although some sources state he graduated in 1949.

## Career

Granizo worked as an art director at KRON-TV, a television station in the San Francisco Bay Area in the 1950s, and later worked on directing educational films.
He started doing ceramic tile murals in 1970, and at that time he changed his name to Guillermo Wagner Granizo. He worked with the Stonelight Tile Company of San Jose for many years. His works are made of brightly colored ceramic tiles, and feature bold geometric shapes and abstract characters. He would often sign his work "BWG".

## Personal life

After World War II, Granizo married Amalia Mary "Mollie" Castillo, from a prominent Guatemala family. They had two sons, and divorced in the early 1970s.
Granizo's second marriage was to artist Lark Lucas, and they lived in Ben Lomond, California. The couple separated in 1984, and Granizo moved to San Jose, California to be closer to the tile factory. Granizo moved to Benicia, California in 1980 and resided there until his death in 1995. He died in November 1995 in Benicia, from cancer.

## Public art work

This is a select list of notable public artwork created by Granizo, and listed by year of creation.
| Year | Title and/or description | Artist(s) | Material(s) | Dimensions | Location | Notes |
| 1962 | Eight indoor murals | Guillermo Wagner Granizo | Ceramic tile mural | | San Francisco Academy of Sciences and the Steinhart Aquarium (now California Academy of Sciences), San Francisco, California | |
| 1980 | "Cathedral of Man" | Guillermo Wagner Granizo | Ceramic tile mural | Spans multiple walls and ceiling | Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), on the 3rd floor landing, 3501 Market St, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | |
| 1981 | "A Gift of Appreciation to this Area", one mural | Guillermo Wagner Granizo | Ceramic tile mural | 4-foot by 12-foot mural | Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, 307 Church St, Santa Cruz, California | Mural depicts past events that have been held at that location. |
| 1984 | "Monterey Mural", one outdoor mural | Guillermo Wagner Granizo | Ceramic tile mural | 11-foot by 45-foot mural | Monterey Conference Center, 1 Portola Plaza, Monterey, California | Mural depicts 150 scenes of history of the city of Monterey including the Rumsiens, Spanish colonists, and Mexican farmers. In 1983, the city of Monterey commissioned a 11-foot- by 45-foot tile mural, depicting the history of the city, which was completed a year later in 1984. From 2015 until 2018 the Monterey mural was removed and placed in storage, for restoration and a remodel of the building that housed it. |
| 1984 | Four outdoor murals | Guillermo Wagner Granizo, Lark Lucas | Ceramic tile mural | each mural is 7-foot by 13-foot mural | Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), in the Caring Center playground, 3501 Market St, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | |
| 1984 | One outdoor mural | Guillermo Wagner Granizo | Ceramic tile mural | | Mission Dolores, courtyard, San Francisco, California | Mural depicts the arrival of the San Carlos ship in the San Francisco Bay. |
| 1984 | “Olympic Fantasy,” one outdoor mural | Guillermo Wagner Granizo | Ceramic tile mural | 93-foot by 24-foot mural | California State University, Los Angeles (CalState LA), Physical Education building, Los Angeles, California | The mural was restored in 2010. |
| 1984 | "Sausalito" | Guillermo Wagner Granizo | Ceramic tile mural | 7-foot by 9 foot mural | Private owner, Woodside, California | Sold at auction the Sausalito Art Festival in 1984. In 2022, parts of this mural were found in a parking lot with 11 missing pieces. |
| 1989 | "Lighthouse Fantasy", four indoor murals | Guillermo Wagner Granizo | Ceramic tile mural | | El Faro restaurant, 2399 Folsom Street, San Francisco, California | These murals hang on the upper level of two walls and depict happy people in San Francisco, with many party balloons, hot air balloons, the ocean, a light house, and more. |
| 1992–1995 | "Vacaville Centennial", twenty outdoor murals, set into three freestanding walls | Guillermo Wagner Granizo | Ceramic tile mural | | Vacaville Civic Center, 650 Merchant St, Vacaville, California | Murals depict the city of Vacaville history. |
| 1995 | "Pleasanton Centennial" | Guillermo Wagner Granizo | Ceramic tile murals on three columns | | At Bernal Avenue and Main Street in Civic Park, Pleasanton, California | Murals depict the Pleasanton Fairgrounds, local agriculture, the Ohlone people, and the railroad. |