Category: 1950 – 1959, Bohemian Nights

Looking Back, 1950 – 1959

This Bohemian Night image is one of the silk-screened posters that the Art Association used to advertise their Bohemian Night shows. The Whittier Art Association formed a partnership with the Whittier Civic Light Opera,
and what began as some humorous skits, performed in 1952, ended up as a very well attended annual event that lasted more than ten years.

1950 January 5, ๐™’๐™๐™ž๐™ฉ๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™š๐™ง ๐™Ž๐™ฉ๐™–๐™ง ๐™๐™š๐™ฅ๐™ค๐™ง๐™ฉ๐™š๐™ง:

Emil Kosa Jr. returns for his second solo exhibit at the gallery. He serves as a judge for the Whittier Art Associationโ€™s competitive exhibit in May, 1950. Non-member, professional artists always judged WAA member exhibits, for which there were cash awards.

1950 March 9, ๐™’๐™๐™ž๐™ฉ๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™š๐™ง ๐™Ž๐™ฉ๐™–๐™ง ๐™๐™š๐™ฅ๐™ค๐™ง๐™ฉ๐™š๐™ง:

Paul Landacre shows his wood engravings during his March exhibit at the gallery. His prints are in permanent collections at the Library of Congress and in major museums and libraries in Boston, Philadelphia, San Francisco,
and Seattle. He teaches at the Kann Institute of Art in Los Angeles.

1950 April 1, ๐™’๐™๐™ž๐™ฉ๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™š๐™ง ๐™‰๐™š๐™ฌ๐™จ:

Norman Rockwellโ€™s drawings and paintings are shown in the small gallery, and the paintings of Joseph Mugnaini
are shown in the main floor gallery. Mugnaini, is an instructor at Otis Art Institute, and a good friend of
Norman Rockwell.

Note:ย  The Whittier Art Association & Gallery Archives holds the inventory sheet of Norman Rockwellโ€™s artwork
that hung in this April, 1950 exhibit.

1950 May 8, ๐™’๐™๐™ž๐™ฉ๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™š๐™ง ๐™‰๐™š๐™ฌ๐™จ:

The Whittier Art Associations Art Fair was held under the trees behind the gallery building. ย Artist members demonstrated several media including water color painting, by Mabel Haig, woodcarving by Cloudsley French,
and weaving by Glen Nelson. Ida Oโ€™Keeffe visited the event, and can be seen in the center of the newspaper photo.

1951 April 7, ๐™’๐™๐™ž๐™ฉ๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™š๐™ง ๐™‰๐™š๐™ฌ๐™จ:

Jean Charlot, internationally famed muralist, show his lithographs in a solo exhibit at the Whittier Art Gallery.
He has also authored books including ๐˜ˆ๐˜ณ๐˜ต ๐˜ง๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜”๐˜ข๐˜บ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜‹๐˜ช๐˜ด๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜บ.

Note:ย  Jean Charlot, worked in the true fresco technique during the early 1920s. He befriended Mexican muralists Diego Rivera, David Siqueiros, and Jose Orozco.

1953 October 27, ๐™’๐™๐™ž๐™ฉ๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™š๐™ง ๐™‰๐™š๐™ฌ๐™จ:

Bohemian Nightโ€™s second year featured a hilarious melodrama entitled โ€œThe Lighthouse Keeperโ€™s Daughterโ€, the โ€œclever farceโ€ was written and narrated by Mabel George Haig. The eveningโ€™s live music was played on piano and accordion. Mrs. Paul Van Cleave, Paul Gardiner, Dick Squires, and Blanch Hutchison, performed Mabel Haigโ€™s melodrama, โ€œThe Lighthouse Keepers Daughterโ€.

1953 October 29, ๐™’๐™๐™ž๐™ฉ๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™š๐™ง ๐™‰๐™š๐™ฌ๐™จ:

The second annual Bohemian Night was produced by the galleryโ€™s artists. Placed in the setting of โ€œCafรฉ Bohemiaโ€,
was the proprietor and other โ€œemployeesโ€ of the cafรฉ. Art Association artists became writers, musicians, and actors
in this effort to raise money for the Galleryโ€™s Building Fund.

1954 August 11 East [Whittier] Review:

The California Art Club exhibits watercolors and oil paintings at the Whittier Art Gallery in August. Phillip Paval, president of the club, spoke at the open meeting. His subject was โ€œArt of the Silversmith. Phillip Paval is an internationally known Silversmith and creates original designs in both gold and silver. His work has been exhibited
in America and major museums in Europe.

1957 June 18, ๐™’๐™๐™ž๐™ฉ๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™š๐™ง ๐™‰๐™š๐™ฌ๐™จ:

Milford Zornes one-man show at the Whittier Art Gallery features a collection of his watercolors, temperas, and
oil paintings. Milford Zornes is a nationally recognized watercolor painter, a member of the American Watercolor Society and art director of the Padua Institute at Padua Hills. At his artistโ€™s talk, he spoke of his experiences in
Thule, Greenland.

1957 December 1, ๐™’๐™๐™ž๐™ฉ๐™ฉ๐™ž๐™š๐™ง ๐™Ž๐™ฉ๐™–๐™ง ๐™๐™š๐™ฅ๐™ค๐™ง๐™ฉ๐™š๐™ง:

Rex Brandt, an associate of the National Academy of Design, exhibits his watercolor paintings in December.ย 
During his artistโ€™s talk, he showed three films, โ€œWatercolor Landscapeโ€, โ€œWatercolor and Printers Inkโ€, and
โ€œOil Painting Methodsโ€.

1958 January 12, ๐™‡๐™ค๐™จ ๐˜ผ๐™ฃ๐™œ๐™š๐™ก๐™š๐™จ ๐™๐™ž๐™ข๐™š๐™จ:

A Bohemian Night titled โ€œTraveling Lightโ€, is a Parisian fling, set in a Left Bank cafรฉ. The evenings are planned with
a longer intermission โ€œto permit patrons to sit for individual portraits sketched by a sidewalk artistโ€.

Note:ย  This Bohemian Night, โ€œTraveling Lightโ€, written by Natalie Stone, told the musical story of a โ€œcereal-contest winning couple, who won a trip around the worldโ€. The show played โ€œto a sold-out houseโ€ for four performances.

Phil Dike

Phil Dike’s watercolor painting,ย ๐˜š๐˜ถ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ ๐˜—๐˜ข๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜ต, was featured on the cover of theย ๐˜“๐˜ฐ๐˜ด ๐˜ˆ๐˜ฏ๐˜จ๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜›๐˜ช๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด ๐˜๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ ๐˜”๐˜ข๐˜จ๐˜ข๐˜ป๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ. Inย this painting of Newport Bay, Phil Dike’s bold brushย and intense color were recognized.