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ART of the WPA ERA
FROM collectors of THE SAN DIEGO REGION | 
August in East Texas,
Everette Gee Jackson
| 
Pennsylvania Coal Town,
Joseph Meert | Artwork created during the WPA era mirrored a period in American history when the country was attempting to recover from hard times. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was a government program enacted by executive order during the Depression to revitalize the economy. Many artists contributed to this effort and their work remains as an artistic reminder of the hope and promise of the era. WPA artists received meager compensation for producing images that depicted the nation’s progress and social concerns related to their regional location. A large number of murals were completed as part of the WPA program, as well as paintings, sculpture, and architecture. Artists that qualified for the WPA program were recognized professionals who were unemployed at the time. Never before or since has the United States govenment taken such an extraordinary measure to protect the role of the arts in the nation’s life. Although much of the art of the WPA era was destroyed when the politics of the country changed, fine examples still exist in the San Diego region. Curator Bram Dijkstra has drawn from several noted collections in the area that will bring to prominence the legacy of artists like Belle Barancaenu and Phil Dike. Dijkstra is professor emeritus of comparative literature at the University of California, San Diego and author of several books, most recently, American Expressionism: Art and Social Change, 1920-1950. The regional focus of the exhibition reflects OMA’s mission to exhibit and collect the art of the San Diego region. A preview reception will open the exhibition on Saturday, January 28th from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Guests will enjoy wine and fabulous hors d’oeuvres prepared by OMA’s own Culinary Arts Council. Admission to the reception is $8 and the public is welcome. Members of Oceanside Museum of Art attend free as a benefit of membership. The exhibition continues through March 19, 2006. NEW DIRECTOR OF EXHIBITIONS
AND COLLECTIONS AT OMA  Oceanside Museum of Art welcomes the addition of Catherine Gleason to the staff as Director of Exhibitions and Collections. Gleason comes to the museum as a curator specializing in modern and contemporary California Art which complements the regional focus of the exhibition programming at the museum. She was most recently adjunct faculty at Mt. San Jacinto Community College teaching art history and prior to that was Museum Curator at California Center for the Arts, Escondido.
“We are fortunate to have someone with Catherine’s background and expertise guiding our exhibition and collections program as we approach groundbreaking on the museum’s expansion. She is coming on board at a pivotal moment in the museum’s history and will be an asset to our plans for the future,” said executive director, Skip Pahl. A North County resident for over ten years, Gleason brings to the position a keen awareness of the visual arts in the region. “I am very impressed with the reputation established by the Oceanside Museum of Art in its short 10 year history,” said Gleason. FROM THE DIRECTOR . . . As OMA approaches the end of its capital campaign for expansion, I feel a deep gratitude for the remarkable expression of public support shown for this effort. The expansion process was initiated in May 1998 by Jean Burns, our forward-looking board president who launched the museum’s first long range plan. The resulting vision was of a greatly enlarged museum that answered the community’s expectations for a center for the cultural arts in coastal North County. Sandra Chanis launched the “quiet” portion of the capital campaign during her tenure as board president as she shared the dream with key donors who supplied the earliest gifts for the expansion. Board member Paul Dooley, backed by enthusiastic community support, formulated a request for a lease amendment from the City of Oceanside allowing the museum to plan an expansion into the adjacent parking lot and to plan the renovation of the Irving Gill designed Firehouse #1. Gaining momentum, board president Mary Rombotis expanded the capital campaign and guided the museum through selection of the project architect and the plan for construction. The public phase of the campaign was launched in the spring of 2004 during her tenure. Finally, under board president Thomas Nunan, the museum received a $1 million challenge grant from the City of Oceanside which brought the campaign to within $250,000 of completing the $5.35 million goal. In seven short years this extraordinary leadership and the generous response of the regional community has brought OMA to the groundbreaking for the expansion in the spring of this year. A vibrant center for the cultural life of North County will soon be rising out of the ground. OMA welcomes new board members The New Year is full of changes at OMA with expansion plans, a new director of exhibitions, and new and returning members of the board. Thanks go out to Thomas Nunan for taking the helm this past year as Board President and for spearheading the fundraising for the capital campaign. He passes the gavel to Sandra Kempter. Joining Sandra on the executive committee are Vice President Beate Russe; Vice President (Building Expansion) Paul Dooley; Secretary Irv Simpson; Treasurer Bob Pickrel; and Thomas Nunan as immediate Past President. New members on the board are Irish Killion and Lillian Shine. Returning after their previous terms had expired are: Ann Mortland, Mary Scherr, and Ellen Stotmeister. Board members whose terms have expired are Rick Mohrlock and Mary Rombotis. Rick is still in demand with the OMA Speakers Bureau and Mary is chair of the Major Travel Committee and the 2006 Museum Ball. CAPITAL CAMPAIGN NEARS COMPLETION Oceanside Museum of Art is nearing the end of its capital campaign with a generous gift of $500,000 from the Howard Foundation. The gift which will be matched dollar-for-dollar by a grant from the City of Oceanside puts the museum in an excellent position for the groundbreaking of its new building in late spring. The Howard Foundation has its roots in the publishing business in North County with the former Blade-Tribune and Blade- Citizen newspapers, now the North County Times. The Howard Foundation has strong ties to the community and continues its support to the area in many ways. CHANGES AT OMA SCHOOL OF ART Long-time School of Art Director and Outreach Program Coordinator, Ruth Platner has retired from her post with the museum after years developing classes and hiring instructors to create first-rate programs. She will continue her outreach to students in Tobago and, of course, will never be far away from a paint brush. Helen Shafer Garcia has assumed the post of director at the School of Art in addition to her responsibilities as OMA’s Outreach Coordinator and Director of the popular OMA Summer Kid’s Art Camp. And, she continues to teach watercolor at the School of Art. An award winning artist, Helen’s cheerful illustrations appear each month in San Diego Home/Garden Lifestyles magazine. OMA Travel NEW YORK CITY April 20 -25, 2006
Museums, Broadway, Lincoln Center and award winning gardens are in store for members of Oceanside Museum of Art departing April 20th for a 6 day cultural tour of New York City. OMA travelers will stay at the first class Warwick Hotel located across from the Museum of Modern Art. This custom designed tour includes docent guided visits to the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art including the Cloister’s Museum, and the renowned gardens of Wave Hill in the Bronx. There is also a pre-arranged guided “behind-the-scene” and “Meet-the-Artist” visit to the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. This fully escorted cultural tour includes non-stop roundtrip airfare, accommodations for 5 nights at the Warwick Hotel, welcome and farewell receptions, entrance fees, airport transfers and a tax-deductible fund raising contribution to Oceanside Museum of Art. The cost of $2,369 is based on double occupancy sharing twin room accommodations. The single room supplement is $799. Reservation deadline is immediate.
Call STS Tours at 1-800-620-9995. CROATIA: Mediterranean Escape May 11-23, 2006
Join OMA travelers for a 12 day tour of Croatia departing May 11, 2006. This charming country offers panoramic views of ancient lakes, thick forests and waterfalls, and caves formed by thousands of years of limestone and chalk deposits. The tour begins in the city of Zagreb, Croatia’s capital since 1557, with its splendid medieval architecture. The tour also visits the city of Dubrovnik, jutting into the Adriatic Sea on a peninsula with spellbinding views. Within the city walls, a medieval treasure trove awaits with marble-paved squares, churches and cathedrals. While dining in Croatia, enjoy the locally made distinctive red wines and liqueurs. This tour includes roundtrip airfare, 10 nights accommodation, daily buffet breakfasts, 4 three-course dinners, and a tax-deductible fund raising contribution to Oceanside Museum of Art. For details about the Croatian tour, please call OMA travel committee representative, Mary Steiger at 760-757-1405. SAN MIGUEL de ALLENDE, MEXICO Oct. 28 -Nov 3, 2006
OMA returns to Mexico for a visit to the charming colonial cities of San Miguel de Allende, Dolores Hidalgo, and Guanajuato. We’ll explore each picturesque city enjoying the art, culture, and history of the region. Wonderful food, Mexican handicrafts, galleries and folk traditions including the “Dia de los Muertos” festivities will combine to offer an extraordinary experience. Helen Shafer Garcia, our guest artist, will conduct two optional watercolor workshops in San Miguel, to capture the beauty of the colonial architecture. An extension to the revitalized, cosmopolitan capital of Mexico City is also offered with visits to the ruins of Tenochtitlan, the Frida Kahlo Museum, and a performance of the Ballet Folklorica.All OMA travel programs are fundraisers designed to provide cultural experiences with a portion of the proceeds benefiting OMA’s programs. Travelers must be members of the museum. For membership information, call 760-721-2787. DAYTIME BUS TRIP Palm Springs Art Museum
Thursday, March 9, 2006
$35 OMA members, $45 nonmembers
depart 9:00 AM, return 5:30 PM approx. A fascinating review of the career of one of the twentieth-century’s greatest innovators in textile design, this exhibition explores the full range of Jack Lenor Larson’s creativity as both a designer and a collector. More than fifty of Larsen’s most important textile designs are included in the exhibition with more than seventy-five objects from around the world that he collected during the past half-century. His work is grouped in four broad categories: Light and Translucency, Surface and Texture, Pattern and Color, and Form and Structure. Also, on view is the 37th Annual National Juried Exhibition representing the creative pulse of the art scene across the country. After arriving in Palm Springs there will be time for a no-host lunch at one of the many popular restaurants along Palm Canyon Drive. This historic street has been home to movie stars and moguls and is crammed with art galleries, boutiques and dining experiences. A 1:00 p.m. docent-led tour is planned at the Palm Springs Art Museum for an indepth view of the current exhibitions and the permanent collection.
Meet the OMA bus and depart from the southwest corner of the parking lot at Plaza Camino Real, Westfield Shoppingtown, located adjacent to the Olive Garden Restaurant on the corner of Monroe and Marron roads, Carlsbad.
Cancellations will only receive a refund if the trip is fully booked at the time of departure.
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