The Art of the New Deal in Los Gatos: Historical Context" Will Occur June 1 - September 25, 2005

Experience the stunning 24 x 6.4 Clay Edgar Spohn mural in a new light, and follow the historical detective-work tracing the meandering path that brought it to Forbes Mill. These historical art works of a bygone era are a worthy visual record of earlier times. Some of the W.P.A. artists included in the exhibition: Clay Spohn, George Post, Dong Kingman, and Jules Halfant. A 1960s Josef Albers lithograph links the W.P.A. works to a Los Gatos High School graduating class donation.

Los Gatos, CA (PRWEB) July 11, 2005 -- The Museums of Los Gatos have been working to make sure that some New Deal era WPA art treasures in Los Gatos dont become history" to public memory. Over at the History Museum (Forbes Mill), guest curator Jade Bradbury has created an exhibition that may come as a pleasant surprise to anyone who thought the Great Depression was all gloom.

The astonishing 24 x 6.4 WPA mural, The Legend of New Almaden", painted in 1940 by San Francisco artist, Clay Edgar Spohn is in the History Museum of Los Gatos (Forbes Mill Annex). It has been a number of other places since it was first installed at the WPA sponsoring site Los Gatos High School in 1941, including a stay at a local bar in Los Gatos in the early 1970s and an extended installation at the De Saisset after being exhibited there in 1976.

The mural is on exhibit with fifteen other now-privately owned WPA easel works, to include watercolors by George Post and Dong Kingman, and stone lithographs by Josef Albers and Arthur Murphy—all of which conspire to tell the story of the Great Depression and Roosevelts New Deal programs in California. Taken altogether, these locally owned artifacts, along with the Spohn mural form the historical context for looking at how our community and the South Bay region in general fared during the depression years. All of these wonderful art artifacts were commissioned for Los Gatos by the W.P.A. – F.A.P. programs during the 1930s.

An early August event, Remembering the Mural: Wildcat Reunion" is scheduled for August 7th from 4-7 p.m. (More details in July).

The museum book store will be featuring Understanding Modern Art: The Boundless Energy of Clay Edgar Spohn," a lavishly illustrated book about the artist, his times, the New Deal, by David Beasley (University of Toronto Press).

About the Museums of Los Gatos
The History Museum of Los Gatos is located at Forbes Mill, 75 Church Street (on the Los Gatos Creek Trail.) The museum is open Wed-Sun, noon to 4 p.m. and is handicap accessible. Admission is free, with a $2 donation suggested.

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