Artist Statement
Eda Kavin was one of the great ladies of San Francisco.
She was a native born here to Russian immigrants who sold their Petaluma farm eggs at Fisherman's Wharf. She was a calligrapher and book binder who fought back McCarthyism and proudly bound the banned books of Henry Miller.
A draftsperson for the City for 27 years she created proclamations and even designed our first street parking permits.
At 75 she picked up a Chinese paint brush for the first time and in short order started creating exquisite paintings. She studied only with San Francisco City College’s Ming Ren, and for ten years his students would travel to her house to meet this lady who kept insisting “If I can do it, you can too.”
Eda picked up a Chinese brush in 1989 when she enrolled in Professor Ming Ren's classes at San Francisco's City College. She painted for continually for 15 years until a few months before her death in June, 2004.
Eda's last exhibit was in 2005. She loved to paint tigers, and this Year of the Tiger inspired us to present her paintings once again.
