Obituary: Marion Stiebel Siciliano dies at 86; abstract painter, philanthropist

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A free-form sculptor, John Chamberlain crafted works from masses of crushed cars and automobile sheet metal. He was 84. Full obituary (Librado Romero / Associated Press)

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A former dissident playwright, Havel was the revered first president of Czechoslovakia after it overthrew Communist rule in 1989. His slogan: “May truth and love triumph over lies and hatred.” He was 75. Full obituary (Petr David Josek / Associated Press)

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The daughter of stars Loretta Young and Clark Gable, Lewis wrote tenderly about her only meeting with Gable at age 15. Young, an unmarried, staunch Catholic, faked an adoption of Lewis, who did not learn the truth about her parentage until she was an adult. She had careers as an actress and a psychotherapist. She was 76. Full obituary (Jill Connelly / Associated Press)

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The heavyweight champ had epic bouts with Muhammad Ali. In 1971 he became the first fighter to defeat Ali, then lost two rematches. In his 37 professional fights, “Smokin’ Joe” won 32 times. But he never accepted his 1-2 record against Ali. He was 67. Full obituary

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Robinson owned Sugar Hill Records. The label released “Rapper’s Delight” by the Sugar Hill Gang in 1979. It’s considered the first mainstream hip-hop hit. She also had a solo hit with “Pillow Talk” in 1973. She was 76. Full obituary

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Lillian Mobley, a tireless South Los Angeles activist, fought to establish the King/Drew hospital and its related medical school. Above, Mobley, right, looks on as Dr. George Locke greets Rep. Maxine Waters at King/Drew in 2004. She was 81. Full obituary

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The saxophonist for Bruce Springsteen‘s E Street Band put his stamp on such Springsteen classics as “Born to Run” and “Rosalita.” He was known both for his full-throttle tenor sax work and his larger-than-life onstage persona as “the Big Man.” He was 69. Full obituary

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Pratt was a former Black Panther whose 1972 murder conviction was overturned after he spent 27 years behind bars for a crime he said he did not commit. He was 63. Full obituary

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The singer gained fame with her 1974 hit, “Poetry Man.” She received wide acclaim for her self-titled album, which showed off her multi-octave range and musical versatility. She had suffered a brain hemorrhage in January 2010. She was 60. Full obituary

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The architect incorporated aerodynamic designs into his whimsical midcentury “Googie” coffee shops, including the original Norms on La Cienega Boulevard in L.A. and Pann’s in Westchester, to attract passing motorists. He was 94. Full obituary | Photos: “Googie” architecture

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The biochemist won the 1976 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for discovering the hepatitis B virus, which causes severe liver disease and cancer. He later developed the vaccine that protects against it. He was 85. Full obituary

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Grannis photographs documented California surf culture of the 1960s and ‘70s. His images helped popularize and immortalize the sport -- and the life behind it -- at a crucial point in its history. “His photos captured the real thing,” wrote surfing journalist Steve Barilotti. He was 93. Full obituary (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)

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Sargent Shriver, a lawyer and Kennedy in-law, worked for JFK’s and Lyndon Johnson’s administrations. He launched social programs including the Peace Corps, Head Start and the Job Corps and led the “war on poverty.” Programs he created “still change people’s lives,” says daughter Maria Shriver. Above, with his wife Eunice in 1968. He was 95. Full obituary (Charles Harrity / Associated Press)

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By Elaine Woo, Los Angeles Times

July 28, 2011 12 AM PT

Marion Stiebel Siciliano, an abstract painter and philanthropist who was active in environmental causes and inner-city development, died July 17 at her Beverly Hills home. She was 86.

FOR THE RECORD:
Marion Stiebel Siciliano: An earlier version of this article misspelled Marion Stiebel Siciliano’s maiden name as Steibel.

The cause was complications of a stroke, said her son John.

Siciliano was a self-taught artist who began painting in 1969. In a major show at Cal State L.A.’s Luckman Fine Arts Complex in 1997, she displayed what Times art critic William Wilson described as a “hard-edge abstract style” that bore the influences of the German Bauhaus and artists such as Frank Stella and Ellsworth Kelly.

“It’s solid, intelligent, sometimes playful stuff that manages to convey great pleasure in the doing and a likable lack of larger ambition,” Wilson wrote.

The critic characterized Siciliano as a “something of a semi-pro” because she was not a full-time artist. She had a thick resume of civic involvements that included being a board member of the Center for Law in the Public Interest and the Economic Resources Corp./Watts Industrial Park, a nonprofit devoted to stimulating minority businesses and job growth in South Los Angeles.

In the 1980s she also chaired TreePeople a group focusing on the greening of Los Angeles.

Descended from a prominent Austrian Jewish banking family, Siciliano was born in Frankfurt, Germany, on Aug. 9, 1924. After Hitler rose to power, she fled Germany with her family in 1938, eventually settling in Boston.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in library science from Simmons College in Boston, she spent the war years in Washington, D.C., cataloging classified documents for the Research and Intelligence Division of the State Department.

In 1947 she married Rocco Siciliano, a Georgetown law school graduate who later held positions in the Eisenhower and Nixon administrations. They moved to Beverly Hills in 1971 when he was named president of Ticor, a financial services company.

Fifty-five years after fleeing Germany, she returned to Berlin as a guest of the German government to show her paintings at Berlin’s historic Rotes Rathaus.

In addition to her husband and son John, she is survived by daughters Loretta and Maria, sons A. Vincent and Fred, seven grandchildren and a great-granddaughter.

A memorial service will be held at 5 p.m. Aug. 21 at the Skirball Cultural Center.

elaine.woo@latimes.com