“Advancing the Appreciation of Art by the Public”
Whittier Art Association & Gallery, est 1934
The Whittier Art Association
The Whittier Art Association formed in May of 1934. The
South Coast News reported that an art association had formed
in Whittier “for the whole community between Los Angeles and Laguna Beach.”
July 7, 1934 South Coast News
Building the Whittier Art Gallery
The Whittier At Association used donated funds to purchase a lot ad build their own gallery. Construction began on December 5, 1938. The Whittier Art Gallery opened on April 10, 1939.
“Whittier has the Southland’s best designed, best equipped, small public art center.”
Arthur Miller, April 16, 1939
Los Angeles Times
The First Whittier Art Gallery
The first Whittier Art Gallery Opened during the Great Depression in a borrowed building space. Well-known artist came to teach art lessons in studio rooms upstairs above the gallery.
May 23, 1934 Whittier News
Archives and Articles
The Whittier Art Association’s archives include documents dating back to 1934. Through research, over 350 newspaper articles have been digitized which tell of life during the Depression and War years, and passion for the art that brought nationally-known artists to exhibit at the Wittier Art Gallery.
Evan Martinez
Historian
Whittier Art Association and Gallery
