Cynthia Dale Schuman

San Francisco Bay Area artist Cynthia Schuman’s passion for art has been the guiding light of her life. She found joy in painting since she was very young and went on to study art at Stanford University.

After a brief period designing in the fashion industry, Cynthia launched a successful career painting portraits of well known San Franciscans and was commissioned to paint Jesse Jackson, Walter Mondale and Gary Hart who were the three Democratic presidential candidates in 1984. The paintings were hung in the VIP lounge at the Democratic convention at San Francisco’s Moscone Center.

From portraiture came a great desire to explore abstract art, to free herself of constraints and paint with large, expansive strokes. The canvases got bigger, many 6’x6’, with sweeping color and movement. With the encouragement of Stanford Professor Emeritus Albert Elsen, she immersed into the field of abstract art. One of these large canvases was presented to Makail Gorbachev by Cynthia in 1990 when he was visiting Stanford. It now hangs in a museum in Moscow.

A chance incident led to the pouring of enamel. To that paint she added crushed crystal forming thick textured surfaces. It was during this period that she saw an extraordinary black opal in the window of Cartier in New York. The desire to replicate that opal sent her in search of a new translucent medium that would reflect and absorb light. That goal is still challenging.

Schuman's art has been exhibited in major galleries throughout the Bay Area, including three one woman shows at Harcourt's Gallery, two solo shows at 1212 Gallerie on the peninsula, and most recently a solo exhibit at the SFMOMA Cafe. She is presently represented by SFMOMA Artists' Gallery. Schuman was the subject of cover articles in CITY WOMAN and GENTRY describing her path to abstract expressionism. Source: http://www.cynthiaschuman.com/#!biography/c8ia

Known for her warmth, graciousness, elegance and legendary joie de vivre, her family and close friends will remember her most for how special she made each of them each feel.
Born in Oakland to parents Adolph and Lillian Schuman, Cynthia grew up in Hillsborough, attending South School and Burlingame High.
During her teen years, her father would each year take her to the annual opening of the San Francisco Opera adorned in couture gowns designed by the likes of Pierre Balmain and Christian Dior. Women's Wear Daily featured her on their cover.
In 1953, she was one of a small number of women admitted to the mostly male Stanford University. By the end of her first year, the glamour of the fashion industry drew her away from school to become a designer of women's suits, coats and dresses at Lilli Ann Corporation in San Francisco, a company started by her parents and named after her mother. Cynthia's designs established enduring fashion trends and were featured in Vogue and Bazaar magazines. She was entertained by the luminaries of fashion during her trips to Fashion Week in New York and Paris.
In 1961 she changed her professional focus from fashion design to interior design and founded Benatar and Cole Interiors. She transformed many prestigious homes in the Bay Area with her unique and exquisite touch. During this period, she married Daniel Benatar and they had two children, Denise and Darrell.
Best known as an artist, in the 1970's she painted superb portraits of San Francisco dignitaries Joseph Koret, Walter Shorenstein, Cyril Magnin, Linus Pauling and Senator Diane Feinstein. She was featured in numerous magazines including Town and Country's Top People and Places in California. In 1984, her portraits of presidential candidates Jesse Jackson, Walter Mondale and Gary Hart were displayed at the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco.
Cynthia returned to Stanford in her 50's to continue her Fine Arts degree, as she began experimenting with abstract painting using acrylics, enamels, and resins. It was a bold move for her to move from representational portraiture to abstract art but in doing so she found great joy and felt she had found her true purpose in life. She went on to have numerous art shows and was featured in local art galleries including the San Francisco Modern Art Museum Gallery. She was selected to present one of her paintings, "Creation of Peace" to Mikhail Gorbachev during his historic visit to San Francisco in 1990. You can see Cynthia's art at CynthiaSchuman.com.
In 1991, Cynthia met Dan Banks and they were married the next year. For the last 30 years, Cynthia and Dan made family their priority. They took their children and grandchildren to Mexico every year for the holidays where the families formed life-long bonds. Cynthia and Dan traveled the globe extensively together and with friends.
Inspired by her close friend Congresswoman Jackie Speier, in 2020 Cynthia started and funded the Women of Courage Award. This annual award is granted to young women who show outstanding courage in overcoming adversity and who contribute to making the world a better place.