Laguna Art Museum facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Laguna Art Museum(LAM)

Established	1918 (Laguna Beach Art Association) 1972 (Laguna Beach Museum of Art) 1986 (Laguna Art Museum)
Location	307 Cliff Drive, Laguna Beach, California
Type	Art museum

The Laguna Art Museum (LAM) is a cool place in Laguna Beach, California, right by the Pacific Coast Highway. It's special because it only shows art made by California artists or art about California. It's also the oldest art place in the area! It used to be called the Laguna Beach Art Association and the Laguna Beach Museum of Art.

Discovering the Laguna Art Museum

The Laguna Art Museum sits on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Artists picked this beautiful spot way back in 1929. The museum collects and shows art only from California artists. This includes art that shows what the state is like.

The museum's art collection covers all kinds of styles. It has art from the 1800s up to today. LAM wants to share its amazing collection of California art with everyone. It also serves the local community as a fun and important cultural spot.

A Look at the Museum's History

How the Museum Started

A small group of artists started the Laguna Beach Art Association in 1918. They wanted a place to show off their best new artworks. Edgar Payne, who became the museum's first president in 1920, helped a lot. He used money raised by artists to turn an old town building into an art gallery. This gallery was for members to sell their art.

Thanks to artist Anna Hills and others, they raised enough money. In 1929, they opened a new, special gallery. It was designed by a famous architect named Myron Hunt. The Laguna Beach Art Association also started offering art classes for kids and adults.

Growing Bigger and Better

In 1948, a gift from artist Frank Cuprien's family helped the museum grow. They started a fundraising effort to make the gallery bigger. The original building doubled in size and reopened in 1951. An exhibition of early Laguna Beach artists' paintings was shown. These paintings later became the museum's special Permanent Memorial Collection.

As the museum's art collection grew, it started to feel like a real museum. So, in 1972, it changed its name to the Laguna Beach Museum of Art. In 1985, the museum closed for a big update. It reopened in September 1986 after a huge expansion. The museum became much larger, going from 9,000 square feet to 19,000 square feet. It also got more storage and office space.

With the new building, the museum also changed its name again. It became the Laguna Art Museum. This big change helped the museum stand out. It became the main place for California art in the area.

Support from the City

In 2016, the Laguna Beach City Council decided to give the museum a lot of money. They approved a grant of $1 million over four years. This made the city one of the museum's biggest supporters. This investment shows how important the museum is to the city. It brings culture and helps the local economy.

Celebrating 100 Years

In 2018, the museum celebrated its 100th birthday! This marked 100 years since the Laguna Beach Art Association began. They had a year full of birthday events. There was a special movie called "Laguna Art Museum at 100." It was shown on April 19. There was also an exhibition about the museum's founders.

The celebration kicked off on January 27 with the Centennial Bash. This party had cool art displays by artists Megan Geckler, Elizabeth Turk, and FriendsWithYou. There was also live music and craft beer. On August 25, the actual 100th birthday, the museum had a family-friendly event. It included art activities, tours, prizes, cake, and free entry for everyone. The Centennial Ball, a fancy dinner and dance, finished the summer celebrations on September 29.

Amazing Art Collections

The museum has a permanent collection of over 3,500 artworks. These artworks are in many different forms. They range from the early 1800s to today. All of them focus only on California art. You can see important examples from every time period of California art.

Artists from the Past

Collections from the 1800s and early 1900s include artists like:

• William A. Coulter
• Frank Cuprien
• Edwin Deakin
• Ferdinand Deppe
• Thomas Hill
• Anna Althea Hills
• Thomas Lorraine Hunt
• George Hurrell
• Joseph Kleitsch
• Edgar Payne
• Julian Rix
• William Wendt

Modern and Contemporary Artists

Some of the contemporary artists featured are:

• John Altoon
• Robert Arneson
• Judy Chicago
• Francis De Erdely
• Tony DeLap
• Manny Farber
• Oskar Fischinger
• Llyn Foulkes
• Sam Francis
• George Herms
• Craig Kauffman
• Peter Krasnow
• Roger Kuntz
• Helen Lundeberg
• John McCracken
• Wayne Thiebaud
• DeWain Valentine

Past Art Exhibitions

The art shows at the Laguna Art Museum change every three to four months. Here are some notable past exhibitions:

• Thomas Hunt: California Modernist (October 13, 2019 – January 12, 2020) showed about fifty of Thomas Lorraine Hunt's paintings. It was his first solo show since he passed away in 1937.
• Miss Hills of Laguna Beach- Anna Althea Hills: Art, Education, Community (October 16, 2016 – January 15, 2017) displayed over 60 of Hills's paintings. It also had china she decorated, letters, and photos. Hills helped start the Laguna Beach Art Association. She was key in making Laguna Beach a famous art spot. The show featured her large paintings of Southern California landscapes and seascapes.
• Peter Krasnow: Maverick Modernist (June 26 – September 25, 2016) was the first museum show of Krasnow's art in almost 40 years. It included about 50 paintings and 20 sculptures. The show had his early realistic portraits and carved sculptures. It also featured his later abstract paintings.
• Helen Lundeberg: A Retrospective (February 21 – May 30, 2016) was the first big show of Helen Lundeberg's art since she passed away in 1999. She helped start post-surrealism. It showed over 60 paintings and looked at her career from the 1930s. Her art shows a strong sense of order and balance.
• Wayne Thiebaud: American Memories (February 23 - June 1, 2014) was a show of still lifes, landscapes, and cityscapes. Thiebaud himself chose the pieces for this show. His colorful paintings celebrate American life. They show nostalgic memories from his own life.
• WoW: Emergent Media Phenomenon (June 14 – October 4, 2009) included original works by Blizzard Entertainment. It also had art based on the culture of WoW by fourteen artists. There were also fan art pieces.
• Roger Kuntz: The shadow between Representation and Abstraction (March 15 – May 24, 2009) showed 63 paintings and 12 small bronze sculptures. It was the first major show of his work since he passed away. This exhibition was named one of the top museum shows in the nation for 2009. It offered a new look at Kuntz's art. Much of the show focused on his oil paintings of California freeways.
• William Wendt: In Nature’s Temple: The Life and Art of William Wendt (November 9, 2008 – February 8, 2009) was the first full show of William Wendt's art. It featured 61 of his paintings. Wendt was from Laguna Beach. His paintings captured the beauty of nature. This show displayed his stunning California landscapes.

Fun Programs and Events

The museum offers many different programs for all ages. This includes local schools and communities that don't usually get art education.

Programs for Kids and Teens

The museum offers free School Tours for students from kindergarten to 12th grade. More than 2,000 students and teachers visit each year. They come from Orange County, including cities like Santa Ana. The museum also provides art education programs there. Other fun activities for young people include the monthly Family Art Studio and Elements of Art Summer Camps. More children join these programs every year. Schools see how valuable they are for learning.

Programs for Adults

Laguna Art Museum also has Docent-guided Tours. These are led by knowledgeable guides. There are also many art education programs for adults. About 10,000 people from the area join these each year. Events include:

• First Thursday Art Walks
• Music concerts with Laguna Beach Live!
• Film screenings related to the exhibitions
• Lectures about the art shows
• Other programs that fit the museum's goals

Art & Nature Festival

Art & Nature is a special yearly event. Laguna Beach has a long history of artists finding ideas in nature, especially the beach. This tradition comes alive in the Art & Nature program, which started in 2013. Inspired by the beautiful landscape, the museum hosts a yearly weekend festival. It explores the connection between art and nature.

This event brings together art and the natural world. It features an outdoor art installation and nature-themed exhibitions. There's also a main lecture, a discussion with artists and environmentalists, and a free Family Festival.

The event has several goals:

• To offer a festival of art and ideas for the community.
• To inspire artists.
• To find links between art and science.
• To make people more aware of environmental issues.
• To celebrate Laguna Beach as a center for art and nature.

Past Art & Nature Highlights

• In 2013, the first Art & Nature event took place. The main art piece was Sand Drawing by Jim Denevan. It was a huge pattern of spirals on Main Beach. Denevan worked with 40 volunteers. They traced detailed designs in the sand. Solar lanterns lit up the designs at night, showing a lotus flower and other patterns. Other shows included Clay and Space by Adam Silverman and Sea Change: Tanya Aguiniga's Bluebelt Forest. There were also lectures and a music concert.
• In 2014, Art & Nature featured An Elongated Now by Lita Albuquerque. Hundreds of volunteers took part in this performance on the beach at sunset. They wore white and formed an arc along the beach. They walked to the museum and back. Each person glowed with a blue light. Together, they showed the connections between matter and light, and art and nature. Other shows included Elizabeth Turk: Sentient Forms.
• The third Art & Nature in 2015 had Electric Light Blanket by Laddie John Dill. This was a laser light show on Main Beach. Choreographed lights projected from the cliff made a mosaic of colors. Other shows included David Ligare: California Classicist. Roger Malina gave the main lecture. Lita Albuquerque also returned to talk about her previous year's exhibition.
• Art & Nature 2016 included Phillip K. Smith III's large art piece 1/4 Mile Arc. It had 250 mirrored posts on the beach. They reflected the changing colors of the ocean. Other shows included Phillip K. Smith III: Bent Parallel and Miss Hills of Laguna Beach. Martin Kemp gave the main lecture about Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa. There was also an interactive sound performance by Jamie Stewart and David Horovitz. It tried to sound like a violent storm coming from the sea.

Other Yearly Events

The museum also hosts the Art Auction: California Cool and Palette to Palate.

The Laguna Art Museum's Art Auction is one of the oldest art auctions in California. It's also one of Orange County's most exciting art events. The art auction started in 1983. It has become a very important way to raise money for education programs and exhibitions.

Palette to Palate began in 2006. It's a yearly fundraising event that mixes art and dining. Once a year, guests enjoy a special dinner with several artists. Their artwork is displayed on the walls and tables. Later, the artwork is sold, and there's a live auction. Money raised from this event helps support educational programs and exhibitions. Events like Palette to Palate show how connected the museum is to Laguna Beach's art community. They also show its important role as a social and cultural place.

How the Museum Gets Money

Since 1983, the Laguna Art Museum's yearly California Cool Art Auction has helped raise money. This money supports education programs and exhibitions at the museum.