Guide to the Palos Verdes Community Arts Association Collection 017
Monique Leahey Sugimoto
Stella Castillo and Lulu Zilinskas
Palos Verdes Library District, Peninsula Center Library. Local History Center.
2018 Apr 19
701 Silver Spur Road
Rolling Hills Estates, California 90274
localhistory@pvld.org
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Palos Verdes Library District, Peninsula Center Library. Local History Center.
Title: Palos Verdes Community Arts Association Collection
Creator:
Palos Verdes Library District (1928-)
Identifier/Call Number: 017
Physical Description:
.5 Cubic Feet
1/2 legal document box
Date (inclusive): ca 1930 - 1981
Physical Location: Local History Center
Abstract: Collection includes exhibition catalogs, meeting minutes and agendas.
Conditions Governing Access
Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the Local History Center for access information.
Conditions Governing Use
The collection is open for research use.
Preferred Citation
[Name of item], Palos Verdes Community Arts Association Collection (Collection 017). Local History Center, Peninsula Center
Library, Palos Verdes Library District, Rolling Hills Estates, CA.
Biographical / Historical
Wtih the opening of the Public Library and Art Gallery in 1930, the Palos Verdes Library District Board of Trustees created
a committee called the Committee on Art Exhibits and Art Functions to take charge of art exhibits and other art functions
in the new gallery. Members of the Committee included community members and Librarian Agnes McMillan who acted as the Secretary.
One of the first projects of the Committee was the opening reception and the first purchase prize.
In February 1931, the Committee on Art Exhibits and Art Functions discussed the formation of a community arts association
to carry on the management and expense of art exhibitions in the gallery apart from the Library's administration and funding.
In May 1931, the Palos Verdes Community Arts Association was officially formed as a nonprofit corporation and the work of
the Committee on Art Exhibits and Art Functions was taken over by the Association.
The goal of the newly formed association was to "establish and maintain in the community a center for the expression of beauty,
artistry and esthetics." Its purpose was "to foster an interest in the educational, social and civic conditions of the community;
to advance and carry on the study, development of knowledge of painting, etching, drawing, sculpture, woodcarving, architecture,
landscape architecture, literature, music, drama and the allied arts."
The Committee and Association exhibited materials by local and regional artists and organizations. Exhibits included works
by Ralph Holmes, Franz Geritz, and artists from organizations such as the California Water Color Society, Print Makers Society
of California, Art Clinic of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara Associates Artists' Division, the Laguna Group of the Laguna Beach
Art Association, Contemporary Artists of San Diego, Academy of Western Painters, and the Spectrum Club of Long Beach.
Exhibits also included materials prepared by the American Institute of Architects, Pacific-Coast Chapter, materials on loan
from the collection of Mrs. George Madison Millard of Pasadena, and an exhibit of Stowitts' American Champions.
In 2000, the name of the Association was officially changed to the Palos Verdes Art Center and in 2013, it was amended to
the Palos Verdes Art Center and Beverly G. Alpay Center for Arts Education.
Arrangement
Arranged alphabetically by creator, then by folder title; thereunder chronologically, with undated materials filed after dated
materials.
Scope and Contents
Includes correspondence, exhibition catalogs and programs of the Committee on Art Exhibits and Art Functions and later the
Palos Verdes Community Arts Association.
Processing Information
Initial housed in Palos Verdes Library District Collection correspondence. Rehousing and stabilization of materials and final
arrangement and description by Monique Leahey Sugimoto, April 2018.
Related Materials
Palos Verdes Library District Collection (Collection 018) and file 'Community Arts Association' included in Subject and Biographical
File Collection (Collection 013).
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Community-based organizations
Exhibition catalogs
Box SC 3
Committee on Art Exhibits and Art Functions correspondence
ca May 1930 - July 1931
Scope and Contents
Includes correspondence on the establishment of the Committee on Art Exhibits and Art Functions, arrangements for the opening
of the Art Gallery and the first purchase prize.
Box SC 3
Committee on Art Exhibits and Art Functions exhibition catalogs
1930-1931
Box SC 3
Committee on Art Exhibits and Art Functions first exhibition
1931
Scope and Contents
Includes handwritten letter by Ralph Holmes, recipient of the first purchase prize.
Box SC 3
Committee on Art Exhibits and Art Functions meeting minutes
May 6 1930; Jan 1931 - May 1931
Scope and Contents
Includes minutes discussing the creation of the Committee on Art Exhibits and Art Functions, purchase prize and the creation
of the Palos Verdes Community Arts Association.
Box SC 3
Palos Verdes Community Arts Association annual reports
1966-1970
Box SC 3
Palos Verdes Community Arts Association correspondence
1940-1941; 1968
Box SC 3
Palos Verdes Community Arts Association exhibition catalogs
Aug 1931-1938
Box SC 3
Palos Verdes Community Arts Association exhibition insurance inventories
1931-1938
Box SC 3
Palos Verdes Community Arts Association incorporation records
1931; 1939
Scope and Contents
Includes letter of intent to incorporate a non-profit, non-stock corporation and copy of the 1939 bylaws of the Palos Verdes
Community Arts Association.
Box SC 3
Palos Verdes Community Arts Association membership application
ca 1931
Box SC 3
Palos Verdes Community Arts Association member roster
1963-1964
Box SC 3
Palos Verdes Community Arts Association program flyers and brochures
1941-1981 (with gaps)
Box SC 3
Palos Verdes Symphony Orchestra
1940-1941
Scope and Contents
Includes orchestra programs and flyers.
Biographical / Historical
The Palos Verdes Symphony Orchestra was created under the auspices of the Palos Verdes Community Arts Association in 1939.
Violinist and composer Josef Piastro (also known as Josef Piastro Borissoff) was its first conductor. The Palos Verdes Symphony
Orchestra ended in early 1950.
