Fausto Bellino Tasca

Santa Barbara, California

When the young Tasca family settled in Santa Barbara they were taken with the beauty of the California coast, as well as a welcoming community. Fausto soon found work in Santa Barbara and nearby Montecito, and Paolina began her singing career in earnest.

Fausto and Paolina both offered their artistic talents to the annual Fiesta in Santa Barbara. Paolina was a gifted singer as well as an inventive and skilled seamstress, and Fausto painted scenic backdrops for the annual Fiesta. Fausto also painted background for plays and other theatre presentations.

In 1919 Fausto received a brilliant commission from the City of Santa Barbara. He was to paint a gift for the King and Queen of Belgium. The royal couple would visit Santa Barbara that year, and the city very much wanted to present them with a beautiful landscape featuring the Mission. According to newspaper accounts, a Mrs. Norton sponsored this exceptional gift.

Mission Santa Barbara, 1919
Oil on canvas
Collection of the Royal Family, Belgium
Identical Copy, Collection of the Tasca Estate

Newspaper article, 1919
Gift of Mission painting
to the King & Queen of Belgium
Archive of the Tasca Estate

Personal letter, 1919
From the Queen of Belgium
Archive of the Tasca Estate