Tile art by Guillermo Wagner Granizo in front of the Herald office depicting the famous boxing match between Jim Corbett and Joe Choysnki, which took place on a wheat barge in the middle of the Carquinez Strait in 1889. This piece was donated by former Herald Editor Bob Silva and his wife Connie. (Photo by Nick Sestanovich)

His work can be viewed all over town, several corners of the world and now it can be viewed on national television.

The work of famed ceramic artist Guillermo Wagner Granizo— whose tile works depicting scenes of Benicia can be seen gracing First Street’s sidewalks— will be featured on Fox Business Network’s “Strange Inheritance” next week. Hosted by Jamie Colby, the show goes over the interesting legacies and artifacts that families have inherited from relatives. Recent episodes have included the daughter of a world-famous baby photographer Constance Bannister who inherited 100,000 portraits her mother took from the ‘40s to ‘60s, and the descendants of basketball inventor James Naismith who were bestowed a two-page document containing the original rules of the game that their ancestor had typed up.

Monday’s episode will feature the sons of Granizo and his unique style of artwork that has become instantly recognizable to Benicia’s residents. Granizo was born in San Francisco in 1923 but spent much of his childhood living in Mexico, Nicaragua and Guatemala. He graduated from the San Francisco College of Art in 1949 and spent a decade designing sets for KRON-TV. He then found his true calling in designing tile murals. The works often depicted scenes from The Bible as well as scenes from his own life and world history. His tiles can be seen as far away as Japan, but his work is most prominent in Benicia where the artist spent the last two decades of his life and also made a major subject of his work. His murals of World War I, World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam War can be viewed in front of the Veterans Memorial Hall, and he also depicted such landmarks as the Capitol Building, St. Dominic’s Catholic Church, the Camel Barns and the Pacific Mail Steamship Company.

In 2015, the Benicia Historical Museum opened an exhibit dedicated to Granizo’s works and his ability to tell stories through his art. According to Executive Director Elizabeth D’Huart, the “Strange Inheritance” crew filmed a lot of scenes at the museum.

“The film crew spent several days in Benicia and several days in the museum scouting locations for the shoot and also talking to people in the museum,” she said.

Granizo’s sons, Robert and Ron Wagner, were present at the unveiling of the exhibit and even helped donate pieces, which will be featured on the upcoming show.

D’Huart hopes the episode will bring further awareness of the artist and Benicia on a national scale.

“We are thrilled that Granizo’s art work will reach a new audience through this program and proud to have played our part in increasing the public’s awareness and appreciation of this multi-talented artist,” she said.

The episode will air at 6:30 p.m., Monday, April 17 on Fox Business Network, which is available on the following channels: 130 and 761 on Comcast, 1211 and 211 on AT&T U-Verse, 38 on Sony SF, 206 on Dish Network and 359 on DirecTV. The Granizo exhibit is on display at the Benicia Historical Museum, open from 1 to 4 p.m. on Wednesdays through Sundays and located at 2060 Camel Road. For more information on the exhibit or airing, call the museum at 745-5435.

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