Josephine Romano Lyden began her artistic career with the Federal Government in Los Angeles, under the auspices of the Index of American Design of Washington, D.C., which is part of the National Gallery of Art and the Smithsonian Institute. During that time, she painted many watercolor illustrations of Early American Crafts and Art Objects taking her inspiration from the Los Angeles County Museum of Fine Art and the historical relics of various California Missions, such as those of Santa Barbara, San Fernando, San Juan Capistrano, etc. Among her most important productions were her fine watercolor paintings of the famous Early American Mollie Bentley Dolls (circa 1886).

Josephine's natural inclination and love of the art of drawing and painting on canvas and paper surfaces surfaced as a young girl growing up in Lincoln Heights, an Italian neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Then is when she made a promise to her father, Joseph Romano, an early emigrant of Busiquino, Sicily and an executive with The Bank Of Italy, which later became Bank of America, that she would pursue her ambition and succeed as a professional artist. From that promise, which she had made him three days before he passed away, at a very young age, she gained the courage and the dedication to make art her major goal in life.

Born of Sicilian parents, in the city of her mother's birth, Birmingham, Alabama, on March 22, 1915, she was to be the oldest of five other siblings, two girls and three boys, who were born in Lincoln Heights, after she, at nine months old, migrated there with her parents. She pursued her formal education and professional training in art in Los Angeles. There, in Art College, she met her husband; they were married in 1942, one month after the eruption of World War Two.

The youngest artist on the staff at the Index of American Design, from 1937-1940, she worked with the most prominent artists of her day, Frank Lloyd Wright and Walt Disney. During the ensuing War Years (1940-1944) she was a Technical Illustrator, Electrical and Mechanical Draftswoman for the various War Production Companies.

"Ah, what a remarkable era, in terms of art, those years were," she reminisced during our interview. "In those times there was no colored photography, so the United States' only alternative was to entrust the recording and preserving our early American history to the country's natural resource of outstanding artists. It was a daunting task our country heaped upon us but I, as one of those chosen few, welcomed that challenge. Since watercolor was to be the medium, I rendered, on canvas, the Early American Artifact and the California Missions collections, which were housed in the Los Angeles Museum of Art."

Today, her collections can be viewed in the National Gallery and Archives of Washington, D.C., where her other paintings are housed in the Index of American Design. "Her most important productions are her fine watercolor renderings of the famous Early American "Molly Bently" dolls, circa 1850. They have enjoyed popularity as our best seller," says Charles Ritchie, Assistant Curator of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Tom Lange, Curator of Huntington Art Gallery, San Marino, Ca. says, "Her work illuminates and enriches unusual and novel views of life in 18th century Rome. Her work is both colorful and lively in its perspective."

Her love for art has taken her to most of the famous museums of the world. Especially eventful was her timely meeting of Dr. Walter Persegati, General Administrator of the Vatican Museum, in the fall of 1990. There, he introduced her to the etchings of Giovanni Battista Piranesi, a great Architect of 18th Century Classical Roman atmosphere. The collection had such an impact on her that she set herself the task of memorializing it in watercolor. Later, she donated the rendered collection to the Home for retired Scalabrini Fathers of St. John Baptist Province, where they hang in the Sun Valley, California St. Charles residence. On permanent display there as well are her many oil paintings.

Josephine's artistic ambitions were to contribute to the art world, to inspire as many art lovers as she could and instill in them the desire to go forward and create lasting art for humanity to appreciate.

Today Josephine is still a very active, outgoing and am-bitious individual, holding memberships in various cultural and professional organizations, such as the American Institute of Fine Art in Beverly Hills, Arba Sicula, in which she is the Art Committee Chairman, and the National Italian American Foundation. Moreover, she is an associate member and a benefactor of Villa Scalabrini, a home for aged Italians. Her passion for art is even now alive and well and sets a fine example as a benefactress, donating to several nonprofit organizations, for their fund raising events, her paintings, watercolors and reproductions of the Molly Bently Doll.

"My father would be very proud to know that I retired as an Art Teacher for the Los Angeles Unified School District and the Los Angeles Catholic Archdiocese," she is proud to add, as we wind up our hour together.

Presently, Josephine lives in Alhambra, California, where she settled in 1952, six years after her only child, Margaret, herself a talented artist and successful realtor, was born. At the active age of eighty-six, Josephine still serves as an Art Instructor for the Alhambra Unified School District. Up until her fall last year, when she broke her hip, her hobbies were hiking, swimming and world traveling. However, she is on the mend and anxious to resume her active lifestyle.

EDITOR'S NOTE:
I also personally know Josephine Lyden. She is a magnificent role model for her community and a constant inspiration to us all.