Laguna Art Museum facts for kids
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| Established | 1918 (Laguna Beach Art Association) 1972 (Laguna Beach Museum of Art) 1986 (Laguna Art Museum) |
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| Location | 307 Cliff Drive, Laguna Beach, California |
| Type | Art museum |
The Laguna Art Museum (LAM) is a cool art museum in Laguna Beach, California. It's right on the famous Pacific Coast Highway. What makes LAM special is that 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 later the Laguna Beach Museum of Art.
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Discover the Laguna Art Museum
The Laguna Art Museum sits on a cliff with amazing views of the Pacific Ocean. Artists picked this beautiful spot way back in 1929. The museum collects and shows only art made by California artists. This art also often shows what the state of California is like.
The museum's collection includes art from the 1800s all the way to today. It has a mix of old and new styles. LAM wants to build a great collection of California art and share it with everyone. It also serves the local community as a fun and important place.
A Look at LAM's History
The Laguna Art Museum started in 1918. A small group of artists living in Laguna Beach created the Laguna Beach Art Association. They wanted a place to show off their best new artworks.
Early Days and Growth
Artists raised money to create an art gallery. Edgar Payne, who became the museum's first president in 1920, turned an old town building into a gallery. This was a place for members to show and sell their art.
Thanks to artist Anna Althea Hills and others, they raised more money. In 1929, they opened a new, fireproof gallery. It was designed by a famous architect named Myron Hunt. Around this time, the Art Association also started offering art classes for kids and adults.
In 1948, artist Frank Cuprien left a gift in his will. This helped start a new 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 important Permanent Memorial Collection.
Becoming a Museum
As the art collection grew and exhibitions got better, the Laguna Beach Art Association started acting 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 renovation. It reopened in 1986 after a huge $1.6 million expansion. The museum almost doubled in size, from 9,000 square feet to 19,000 square feet. It also got more storage and office space. With this new building, the museum changed its name again to the Laguna Art Museum. This big change helped it stand out as the main place for California art.
In 2016, the Laguna Beach City Council decided to give the museum $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, LAM celebrated its 100th birthday! This marked 100 years since the Laguna Beach Art Association began. They had a year full of birthday events. A special movie called "Laguna Art Museum at 100" was shown. There was also an exhibition about the museum's founders.
The celebration kicked off with the Centennial Bash on January 27. It featured cool art installations by artists like Megan Geckler and Elizabeth Turk. 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, wrapped up the summer celebrations on September 29.
Amazing Art Collections
The museum's permanent collection has over 3,500 artworks. These pieces come in many forms, from the early 1800s to today. All of them focus only on California art. You can see great examples from every period of California art history.
Older Artworks
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 Art
More recent artists in the collection include:
- 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
Fun Programs and Events
The museum offers many different programs for all ages. They help local schools and communities that don't have much art education.
School and Family Fun
The museum gives free School Tours to over 2,000 students and teachers each year. These tours come from Orange County, including cities like Santa Ana. The museum also offers art programs outside its walls. Other fun activities for kids include the monthly Family Art Studio and Elements of Art Summer Camps. More and more kids join these programs every year. Schools see how valuable they are for learning.
Adult Programs
Laguna Art Museum also offers Docent-guided Tours. Docents are like friendly guides who know a lot about the art. There are also many art education programs for adults. About 10,000 people from the area attend 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
- 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 getting ideas from nature, especially the beach. This tradition comes alive in the annual Art & Nature program, which started in 2013.
Inspired by the beautiful landscape, the museum hosts a weekend festival. It explores how art and nature connect. 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 place for art and nature.
Past Art & Nature Highlights
- In 2013, the main art piece was Sand Drawing by Jim Denevan. This huge pattern of spirals was made on Main Beach. Jim and 40 volunteers worked all day, drawing detailed designs in the sand. Solar lanterns lit up the designs at night, showing a lotus flower and other patterns. Other exhibitions included Clay and Space by Adam Silverman and Sea Change by Tanya Aguiniga.
- In 2014, An Elongated Now by Lita Albuquerque was a big performance. Hundreds of volunteers participated on the beach at sunset. They wore white and formed an arc, walking to the museum and back. Each person glowed with a blue light. Together, they showed the connections between matter, light, and art.
- In 2015, the main installation was Electric Light Blanket by Laddie John Dill. This involved a laser light show on Main Beach. Choreographed lights from the cliff created a mosaic of colors.
- Art & Nature 2016 featured Phillip K. Smith III's 1/4 Mile Arc. This was an arc of 250 mirrored posts on the beach. They reflected the changing colors of the ocean and shoreline.
Special Fundraising Events
The museum also holds annual events like the Art Auction 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 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 fancy 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. These events show how connected the museum is to Laguna Beach's art community. They also show its bigger role as a social and cultural place.
How the Museum is Funded
Since 1983, the Laguna Art Museum's yearly California Cool Art Auction has been a fundraiser. It helps support the museum's education programs and exhibitions.
