Michael Cronan

Cronan was born in San Francisco in 1951. He studied painting at the California College of Arts and Crafts (now California College of the Arts), and graduated with a degree in Art from the California State University, Sacramento.

Michael was the recipient of scores of awards from leading national and international design organizations and publications and the subject of many articles. His graphic work is in the collections of the Library of Congress, the permanent Design Collection of San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Denver Museum of Art, London's Victoria & Albert Museum and was featured in the Museo Fortuny (1983 Venice, Italy) exhibition entitled "Pacific Wave, California Graphic Design." Cronan was also featured in a four person show, "In the Public Eye" (1993), the first graphic design show at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

In Spring 2002, his poster work appeared in "US Design – 1975-2000," a 25-year retrospective of American design at the Denver Museum of Art.

Additionally, Cronan served on the faculty of the California College of Arts and Crafts from 1982-1999.

Cronan figured that the above-mentioned doesn't really count for much when it comes to painting pictures, but he wanted to let the reader know that besides painting, he didn't spend all those years just putzing around.

On January 1, 2013, Cronan passed away at his Berkeley home after a 5-year battle with cancer. He was 61.