Patch Blog: Millard Sheets Mural Replicated at SPMS

Something may catch your eye as your driving southbound on Fair Oaks. is exhibiting a new piece of art. In fact the work you see on the north wall of the auditorium is a full-scale color replica of an image by renowned artist Millard Sheets entitled, “The Harbor” and was part of a triptych (three panel) mural.

The PTA sponsored this exciting and didactic project executed by AmGraph Graphics, the same firm that creates large-scale banners for The Huntington Library and Norton Simon. Parent Teacher Association president Julie Gulioni remarked, “The PTA is delighted to help draw attention to SPMS's rich artistic tradition. Students and parents alike will love seeing a replica of what used to be on the auditorium wall - and may still be hidden away there!”

Several exciting events will be taking place at the school in the next few weeks and the banner will be the focus of much attention.

On June 4, the Middle School students will participate in Artification Day, according to event co-chair Chandra Lucera. “We are planning a fun, creative block printing project for the students which focuses on the hidden murals by Millard Sheets that the Art and Architectural Preservation Committee has so diligently been trying to investisgate. We felt that it would bring more awareness to all SPMS students and families of the treasures we have at our school."

On the weekend of June 15 & 16, the South Pasadena High School Grand Reunion will take place. A tour of SPMS is just on of the scheduled events and will featuring the many significant art works found in the 1928 Norman Foote Marsh auditorium complex. “The Harbor” banner will be the first stop!

In 1932 artist Millard Sheets visited the South Pasadena Junior High campus to speak to the students about mural painting. Sheets was so impressed by the murals the students were making, he decided to create three true wet frescos on the north wall of the auditorium as a gift to the school. Sheets was a student at the Chouinard School of Art in Los Angels, and was studying mural painting with David Alfaro Siqueiros. Siqueiros who along with Diego Rivera and Jose Clement Orozco, known as “Los Tres Grandes”, were at the forefront of the Mexican Mural movement in the 1930’s and their goal was to tell the story of the people of ancient and modern day Mexico.

Sheets created three panels for the school (then know as South Pasadena Junior High) entitled “The Farm”, “The City”, and “The Harbor”. Sheets created images of the Southern California he had known growing up just after the turn of the 20th century. Orange groves, L. A. City Hall, and the busy port of Los Angeles were just some of the landmarks that students could see when they studied these 14 x 10 foot paintings. He and fellow Chouinardian Ben Messick spent many hours painting directly on wet plaster. As the plaster dried a chemical reaction occurred and the paint “became” part of the wall (unlike a mural where the paint sits on top of the wall).

Sheets would go on to become the premier painter of the California Regionalist School in addition to chairing the art departments of Otis and Scripts. He also ran a very successful commercial art business, which created the artwork for all of the beautiful Home Savings and Loan branches.

Sadly the murals were damaged and later painted over. Mr. Sheets came back to SPMS in the 1970’s and said, “It’s like loosing an old friend” when he saw they were gone. Someday SPMS hopes to be able to uncover the old frescos, but in the mean time a full scale banner has been created so you can see what the frescos might have looked like in 1932.

Preservationist and SPJHS alum Clarice Knapp contacted The Getty research center several years ago to assess the walls where the Sheets murals remain hidden. Their report indicated that the images might have been severely damaged and quite possibly entirely erased.

Art restoration is a rapidly changing science and with the advancements in technology, the South Pasadena Middle School Art and Architectural Preservation Committee remains hopeful that one day a portion of the mural might be revealed and or restored.

For now, seeing the full-scale replica on the auditorium wall is a dream come true. For those of you who are sticklers for accuracy the placement of The Harbor in the center was an aesthetic decision for visual balance, it was originally located on the far right.

We are grateful to the owner of the Sheets watercolor sketch “The Harbor” who graciously gave his permission to replicate the image.