10 Facts About Hugo Ballin

Hugo Ballin was an American artist, muralist, author, and film director.

Hugo Ballin was born in New York City and studied at the Art Students League of New York.

Hugo Ballin was directing, writing, and producing silent films for his own production company.

Hugo Ballin was married to the actress Mabel Croft Ballin.

When Hollywood began making talking pictures, Hugo Ballin left the film industry to return to his first career as a classically trained artist.

Hugo Ballin became one of the foremost muralists in the Los Angeles area, producing murals which still stand at landmark locations such as Griffith Observatory, Wilshire Boulevard Temple, LA County General Hospital, and Burbank City Hall.

Hugo Ballin became a National Academician in 1906, when the Society of American Artists, to which he was elected in 1905, merged with the Nation Academy of Design.

That same year, Ballin received the National Academy of Design's Thomas B Clarke Prize for his work, "Mother and Child".

Hugo Ballin is buried in Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery, Santa Monica, location of one of his final commissions, a set of frescoes depicting the life and death of Christ.

Hugo Ballin's work was part of the painting event in the art competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics.