Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego

Title: Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego

Dates: 1941 - Present

Collection Number: RG005.30

Creator/Collector: La Jolla Historical Society

Extent: .5 linear feet

Repository: La Jolla Historical Society

Abstract: The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego Collection is made up of photographs, ephemera and archival material collected by the La Jolla Historical Society since the 1930s to use for historical research and reference. The Museum began as a wish in November 1940, when President Roosevelt proclaimed National Art Week with the slogan “American Art in Every American Home.” La Jolla’s celebration focused on exhibitions by members of the La Jolla Art Association and they displayed their art in the home of Ellen Browning Scripps. Out of this successful exhibit came the idea of acquiring the home of Miss Scripps as a permanent exhibition space. It was a fitting tribute because she had always supported the arts in La Jolla. The building was purchased in 1941 with its initial name, The Art Center in La Jolla. After other successive name changes, the name was changed to the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in 1992. Today the Museum holds an impressive Collection and exhibition schedule, after extensive renovations to the structure and modernization of its management. The topics pertain to the history and heritage of La Jolla, California; its people, places and events. A container list is included on the PDF and HTML versions.

Language of Material: English

The Collection is open for research

The La Jolla Historical Society holds the copyright to any unpublished materials

[Identification of item]. Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. Collection Number: RG005.30. La Jolla Historical Society

RG005.30

The La Jolla Historical Society inspires and empowers the community to make La Jolla’s diverse past a relevant part of contemporary life. The La Jolla Historical Society’s Collections encompass over 80 years of actively collecting archival material, books, maps, scrapbooks, ephemera, fine art, newspapers, street and land use files, business and personal documents and historic and archaeological artifacts. The Society boasts over 20,000 photographs, over 1000 postcards, 400-plus architectural drawings and approximately 200 oral history recordings. Collecting was initiated by Howard Randolph and volunteers on the historical committee of the Library Association of La Jolla. The Collection began by gathering photographs and documentation in the late 1930s, which later became the nucleus of the La Jolla Historical Society’s Collections. The Society was created in 1963. Through many moves in location the Society continued collecting and expanding. Accumulated Collections took on its current construct in 2010 after the renovation of the La Jolla Historical Society’s campus of structures in central La Jolla, which consists of the 1904 Wisteria Cottage and 1940s Balmer Annex used for exhibits and programming, and a 1909 cottage used for business and research offices. The late Ellen Browning Scripps’ 1916 automobile garage was also renovated and now houses the Collection in a modern collections storage facility. Materials are housed in archival boxes, sleeves, envelopes and other archival-safe materials and are cared for according to standards and best practices of the museum profession. In 2016, the Society initiated new PastPerfect Museum Software to manage and catalog its Collections and in 2018 started using the Online Archive of California to upload searchable information from its Collections to enable improved public access. The Society will continue these processes and look forward to utilizing new opportunities to collect, preserve and share the history of La Jolla.

The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego Collection is made up of photographs, ephemera and archival material collected by the La Jolla Historical Society since the 1930s to use for historical research and reference. The Museum began as a wish in November 1940, when President Roosevelt proclaimed National Art Week with the slogan “American Art in Every American Home.” La Jolla’s celebration focused on exhibitions by members of the La Jolla Art Association and they displayed their art in the home of Ellen Browning Scripps. Out of this successful exhibit came the idea of acquiring the home of Miss Scripps as a permanent exhibition space. It was a fitting tribute because she had always supported the arts in La Jolla. The building was purchased in 1941 with its initial name, The Art Center in La Jolla. After other successive name changes, the name was changed to the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego in 1992. Today the Museum holds an impressive Collection and exhibition schedule, after extensive renovations to the structure and modernization of its management. The topics pertain to the history and heritage of La Jolla, California; its people, places and events. A container list is included on the PDF and HTML versions.