2011-2012 FoGH
Sidney D. Gamble Lecture Series

Garden sculpture, c. 1955, La Gardo Tackett Architectural Pottery, Collection of the Lawrence family; lent in honor of Max and Rita Lawrence © La Gardo Tackett Estate. Architectural Pottery, Vessel® USA Inc. All rights reserved. Photo © 2011 Museum Associates/LACMA

Tour
Curator’s Tour of “California Design” Exhibit at LACMA

With Wendy Kaplan, LACMA curator
February 4, 2012

Wendy Kaplan, Department Head and Curator, Decorative Arts and Design, at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) since 2001, will lead an in-depth and personal tour of the exhibition. A leading expert on late nineteenth- to mid-twentieth-century design, Kaplan has authored, co-authored, or edited many books on the subject such as The Arts & Crafts Movement in Europe and America: Design for the Modern World (2004), Leading "The Simple Life": The Arts and Crafts Movement in Britain, 1880-1910 (1999), and Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1996), to name a few, and has organized major exhibitions. She is currently co-organizing the exhibition and has edited and contributed to the exhibition catalogue.

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ESU (Eames storage unit), c. 1949, Ray & Charles Eames, LACMA, Gift of Mr. Sid Avery and Mr. James Corcoran © 2011 Eames Office LLC; Herman Miller, Inc. Photo © 2011 Museum Associates/LACMA.

California Modern Design

Lecture by Bobbye Tigerman

February 2, 2012

California Design, 1930–1965: “Living in a Modern Way”, LACMA's first major exhibition on mid-century California design, is a comprehensive study on how California became the world center for design innovation sparked from the minds of such iconic designers as Charles and Ray Eames, Richard Neutra, Sam Maloof and more.

Bobbye Tigerman, Assistant Curator of Decorative Arts and Design at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, is co-curating this exhibition along with Curator, Wendy Kaplan. Her lecture will delve into the details of their five years of research and discuss the appeal of this era of California creativity which resulted in new designs for all the decorative arts.

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Manor Del Mar, courtesy of Ann Chaves

Tour
Where Britain Meets America: The Arts and Crafts House of Lewis Merritt

October 1, 2011

To compliment the Sept. 27th lecture, we offer a first look home tour of this Pasadena architectural gem that hasn’t been opened to the public since its recent restoration.

Reservations are required. No tickets will be available at the door. Directions and map will be available with your payment and reservation.

Located on Pasadena’s famed Millionaire’s Row, this stunning 1908 estate home was designed by William F. Thompson for Lewis J. Merritt who, after navigating a successful career in the mining business in the Midwest, came to retire in the warmth of Southern California.

The Lewis house is a wonderful blend of influence from both American and British Arts and Crafts. Exotic wood — including mahogany, koa wood and bird’s eye maple — mingle with stained glass, tile work and two hand-hammered copper fireplaces.

In addition, the use of clinker brick and Arroyo stone gives the home a distinct Pasadena feel. In keeping with the SoCal tradition of Arts and Crafts, indoor/outdoor living is the norm with a pergola, a veranda and an exterior fireplace.

This is the first public tour of the house which recently underwent a massive restoration. More than a dozen rooms on two floors will be open for viewing, including a printing shop and a textiles studio which will display a selection of British textiles.

Known affectionately as Manor Del Mar when the estate was acquired by Ambassador College in 1956, the house had been used as a student dormitory until the present owners bought the property in 2009 and began the meticulous renovation project which is still ongoing today.

Archibald Knox biscuit box, courtesy of Digital Image © 2009 Museum Associates/LACMA/Art Resource, NY

Special FoGH lecture co-sponsored by the Royal Oak Foundation with related house tour!

Archibald Knox: In the Ministry of the Beautiful

Lecture by Liam O’Neill

September 27, 2011

Archibald Knox’s (1864-1933) unique style made him one of the foremost artist/designers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is best known for his more than 400 metalwork and jewelry designs he “ghosted” for Liberty & Co. (London and Paris). While working as a designer, he lived an almost monastic life in the isolated village of Sulby, on the Isle of Man in the heart of the British Isles.

The natural beauty and traditions of his homeland were his inspiration for Knox’s art. The rapid growth of the tourist industry brought many British industrialists to the Isle of Man where they built their summer homes, many of them in the Arts and Crafts style. Knox was an elusive, ephemeral character whose genius lay in his inner imagination and individuality. His life is simply described on his grave stone, “Archibald Knox, artist, humble servant of God in the ministry of the beautiful.”

Educator and lecturer Liam O’Neill founded the Archibald Knox Society in 2006 to promote the legacy of Archibald Knox both nationally and internationally, presenting the Isle of Man as an “Island for an Art Lover.”