Add Bonn was born in 1911, the daughter of French emigrant Achille Bonn and San Francisco native Estella Robin Bonn. Her grandmother, Sara Levy Bonn, was the sister of Phoebe Levy Cerf.
As a successful artist, Add shared her visions, hopes and dreams through her art. A recent memorial about her life revealed, "She would take a tube of paint and show you a piece of her soul. Her renditions of San Francisco are detailed portraits of the flourishing city that she loved. When Add painted people, she muted the details modeling complexity in their simplicity and anonymity, allowing the viewer to insert oneself, and come to terms with her message."
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| Painting by Add Bonn |
Among the many museums and galleries that exhibited Add's paintings were the De Young Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Palace of Legion of Honor, the Oakland Art Museum, and the San Francisco Women's Gallery. Add studied at the California School of Fine Arts, now called the San Francisco Art Institute, and the Marion Hartwell School of Basic Design.
On Add's 100th birthday, a party was held in her honor at City Hall where her paintings were on display, and there was a large gathering of friends and relatives at her home the next day. Even at the age of 100, Add was ready to talk about what it was like growing up in the San Francisco of her day. Click this link to watch a YouTube video: Interview of Add Bonn at age 100. Be sure to go to the end to discover her secret to longevity.
A 48-page transcribed interview of Add talking about growing up in the Mission District and later living in the Russian Hill/North Beach districts is full of interesting recollections. It can be accessed via this link: Written interview of Add Bonn. This document, containing photos of her and of her artwork, is part of the San Francisco Public Library collection.
Add was known as a "firecracker" to her relatives. "Although she lived a quiet, personal life, the personna that she created was loud, gregarious, vivacious, and very public. She lived the message that she wanted the world to understand. Add's philosophy was 'You don't do things in this world because of the next world. You do what's right now, right now.'"
References:
"In Celebration of Add," a memorial by relatives, October 2012.
"Add Bonn" an interview by Alison and Barbara Frantz and the Telegraph Hill Dwellers, housed at the San Francisco Public Library, 2001, http://archive.org/details/addbonn00bonn.
"Add Bonn, Former SF Girls Club Member," filmed on October 5, 2011, posted on YouTube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQdsxfwxKoU.
