Laguna Art Museum Curator of Historical Art, Janet Blake, contributed to our research about Anna Hills and the Laguna Beach Art Association. It was Anna Hills who brought art education to Whittier in the 1920s. Janet Blake selected a quote from Mabel Haigโs writing to include in her book, ๐๐ช๐ด๐ด ๐๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ข๐จ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ข ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ค๐ฉ.
The old hotel pavilion in Laguna Beach is being remodeled under the direction of Edgar Payne, “to meet the needs
of an exhibition”. It will be known as the Laguna Art Gallery”.
Laguna Beach Art Association members exhibit at the Whittier Womanโs club house. Artists include Anna Hills, Hanson Puthuff, Edgar Payne, Karl Yens, Guy Rose, Sam Hyde Harris, and others.
Mabel Haig exhibits in the August Anniversary exhibition of the Laguna Beach Art Association. Among the other exhibiting artists are Benjamin Brown, Frank Cuprien, Henri DeKruif, William Griffith, and Anna Hills.
Mabel spends a week with Anna Hills in Laguna at her home in Laguna Beach.
Anna Hills of Laguna Beach teaches an art sketching class at the Whittier Womanโs club house. An exhibition and
tea are planned. โ. . . Gentlemen will be welcomed at the exhibition.”
Thirty small water color paintings by Anna Hills and 100 sketches, the work of her sketch class students will be exhibited at the Whittier Womanโs clubhouse.
Anna Hills and her students exhibit at Whittier Womanโs clubhouse. Ten students, including Mrs. Myron J. Haig (Mabel Haig), exhibit water colors and oils.
Anna Hills, president of the Laguna Beach Art Association, teaches bi-monthly sketch class at the Whittier Womanโs club house.
Photo of Anna Hills, 1922
The prosperous Roaring Twenties came to an abrupt end with the stock market crash, October 24, 1929.
The Laguna Beach Art Association occurred some debt. The Art Association’s artists held three art auctions to
raise funds to pay-off the debt. Both Mabel Haig and her close friend, Anna Hills, donated paintings to be sold for
the benefit of the Art Association.
Anna Hills of Laguna Beach, internationally known landscapist, dies of a heart attack.
Memorial Exhibition of paintings by the late Anna Hills was shown at the Fern Burford Galleries in Hotel Laguna throughout May of 1931.ย Mabel Haig served as a hostess for the exhibitionโs opening reception.
Mabel George Haig exhibits at the Laguna Beach Art Gallery in July, 1930. Her water color painting, Shanty Town
is entry #18. Some of the other participating artists are George Brandriff, Benjamin Brown, Frank Cuprien, Elanor Colburn, Phil Dike, Clyde Forsythe, William Griffith, Anna A. Hills, Joseph Kleitsch, Hanson Puthuff, Edgar Payne,
and Donna Schuster.
The Los Angeles Times Newspaper announces that the writing of the late Anna Hills, โHow to Judge Picturesโ,
will be read at a meeting of the Whittier Art Association.ย Anna Hills was one of the cofounders of the
Laguna Beach Art Center and Gallery.
Note: The correct title of the document is โHow to Judge a Pictureโ, written by Anna Hills for a talk she gave about two months before she passed away in 1930.
The Whittier Art Gallery exhibits paintings by the late Anna Hills; water colors by Mabel George Haig, and
engravings by Paul Landacre. Harry Muir Kurtzworth will speak at the open meeting on โArt in Southern Californiaโ.ย
Anna Althea Hills
๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐ด๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ด, 1915
Oil on board, 7 X 10 in.
Paintings by Millard Sheets, Edgar Payne, Marian Kavanagh Wachtel, Anna Hills, and Paul Lauritz have been
loaned for the galleryโs exhibit of โArt Gemsโ. Mabel Haig is chairman of the committee in charge.