SR 05-11-2021 13F 13.F
May 11, 2021
Council Meeting: May 11, 2021 Santa Monica, California
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CITY CLERK’S OFFICE - MEMORANDUM
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Denise Anderson-Warren, City Clerk, Records & Elections Services
Department
Date: May 11, 2021
13.F Request of Councilmembers de la Torre, Parra and Brock that, as part of
the City’s efforts to eliminate and mitigate the vestiges of white supremacy
and racial injustice in the City of Santa Monica, the City Council direct staff
to address community concerns related to the display of the 1930s Stanton
McDonald Wright mural at the entrance to Santa Monica City Hall.
Specifically, the request is that Council direct staff as follows: In the short
term, the City will install a temporary artistic scrim (light woven or screen
material) cover over the mural to begin recontextualizing the mural prior to
July 13th, when the public is expected to return for Council meetings in
City Hall. In the long-term, the City will, taking into account prior plans set
forth by the Arts Commission and Cultural Affairs, initiate a community
engagement and education process around the representations depicted in
the mural. This process will include engaging an artist to recontextualize
the mural with artwork that does not whitewash our past but rather
celebrates the diverse history of Santa Monica’s people, culture and its
renewed commitment to acknowledging the movement for equity, justice
and respect for all.
13.F
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Vernice Hankins
From:Margaret Bach <mnlbach@gmail.com>
Sent:Monday, May 10, 2021 11:18 AM
To:councilmtgitems
Subject:Item 13F -- City Hall Murals
EXTERNAL
Honorable Members of the Santa Monica City Council,
I am writing to urge you to oppose the actions recommended in Item 13F on Tuesday's agenda. To support a
"temporary" screening over a portion of the historic mural is uncalled for and smacks of censorship without a robust
public discussion. It is highly unlikely that any of us in the community who care about this matter will be present in the
early morning hours (likely, Wednesday) to comment about the appropriate steps to take with respect to the mural ‐‐
and by that, I am referring to both portions of the mural that flank the entry doors of the City Hall lobby.
Instead I suggest you refer the discussion to the Arts Commission and the Landmarks Commission ‐‐ perhaps through a
joint committee ‐‐ to develop language for an interpretative plaque or display that will appropriately contextualize and
explain the mural imagery, along with information about the City Hall building.
Santa Monica's City Hall ‐‐ a designated landmark that is protected by the Landmarks Ordinance ‐‐ is a rich repository of
history: its location ‐‐ symbolizing the point of unification between north and south Santa Monica; its construction ‐‐
funded through the WPA and the Public Works Administration in the 1930s; and its artwork ‐‐ produced by renowned
20th‐century artist Stanton MacDonald‐Wright, who also headed the Southern California section of the WPA Federal
Arts Project.
Let us honor our history and our historic resources in a thoughtful, meaningful way ‐‐ please oppose 13F as it is currently
written, and direct staff to pursue a process that can do justice to our present and our past.
Sincerely,
Margaret Bach
Former Landmarks Commissioner:1976‐1979, 2007‐2018
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Vernice Hankins
From:Leslie Lambert <leslielambert92@gmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, May 11, 2021 12:25 PM
To:councilmtgitems
Cc:Sue Himmelrich; kevin.mckeown@smgov.co.net; kristen.mccowan@smgov.net;
Christine.parras@smgov.net; gleam.davis@smgov.ner; Oscar de la Torre
Subject:Item 13G
Attachments:mural.pdf
EXTERNAL
Dear Mayor Himmelrich and Councilmembers:
I am writing to express my opposition to the action proposed in Item 13G. Specifically, covering the mural in
the City Hall lobby with a scrim while the disposition of the mural is considered.
Censorship is a slippery slope. I believe covering the mural would be a dangerous first step and antithetical to
our City's values. This action would result from one interpretation of the mural. There are others.
I suggest instead that the the public be educated regarding the alternative interpretation of the story told by the
artist. Also learn about the artist and his values. It is unlikely that he would have produced this work of art with
racist intent.
I am attaching a piece written by an art historian about the artist and the mural. I encourage you to read it and
support installation of an interpretative display by the mural explaining its meaning.
I also encourage you to pursue creation of a mural depicting the truthful history of diversity in Santa
Monica. This mural should be placed in a well traveled area of City Hall.
Thank you.
Leslie Lambert, Sunset Park Resident
Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
Dear Mayor Himmelrich and Councilmembers:I am writing to express my opposition to the action proposed in Item
13G. Specifically, covering the mural in the City Hall lobby with a scrim while the disposition of the mural is
considered.Censorship is a slippery slope. I believe covering the mural would be a dangerous first step and antithetical
to our City's values. This action would result from one interpretation of the mural. There are others.I suggest instead
that the the public be educated regarding the alternative interpretation of the story told by the artist. Also learn about
the artist and his values. It is unlikely that he would have produced this work of art with racist intent.I am attaching a
piece written by an art historian about the artist and the mural. I encourage you to read it and support installation of an
interpretative display by the mural explaining its meaning.I also encourage you to pursue creation of a mural depicting
the truthful history of diversity in Santa Monica. This mural should be placed in a well traveled area of City Hall.Thank
you.Leslie Lambert, Sunset Park Resident Sent from my Verizon, Samsung Galaxy smartphone
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Vernice Hankins
From:Carol Lemlein <lemlein@aol.com>
Sent:Tuesday, May 11, 2021 1:03 PM
To:councilmtgitems; Sue Himmelrich; kristen.mccowan@smgov.net; Phil Brock; Gleam Davis; Oscar de la
Torre; Councilmember Kevin McKeown; Christine Parra
Subject:Re: Item 13F, Request of Councilmembers de la Torre, Parra and Brock …
Attachments:2017-09-18 Santa Monica Lookout Letters to the Editor by Will South.pdf
EXTERNAL
Mayor Himmelrich, Mayor Pro Tem McCowan and Council Members,
I am writing to express my concerns about the Request of Councilmembers de la Torre,
Parra and Brock regarding the Stanton Macdonald Wright mural, History of Santa
Monica.
I am forwarding a letter from Will South, PhD, an art historian and the country’s
leading authority on the artist Stanton Macdonald Wright, which was written in
2017 amid an earlier controversy over the mural. He describes how the
subject matter of the mural relates to the story of the founding of Santa
Monica and offers his perspective on the life and work of Macdonald Wright,
who at the time of the mural's creation during the Great Depression was
Southern California director of arts project for the Works Project Administration
(WPA).
I am also concerned that the described community engagement and education
process, which was committed to by Cultural Affairs several years ago but has
not taken place, is not well served by obscuring the mural from view. Please
consider this as you move forward.
Thank you,
Carol Lemlein
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Vernice Hankins
From:Council Mailbox
Sent:Tuesday, May 11, 2021 1:33 PM
To:councilmtgitems
Subject:FW: Concern of mural at city hall
From: Richard Baron <opguy1313@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, May 10, 2021 10:13 AM
To: Council Mailbox <Council.Mailbox@SMGOV.NET>
Subject: Concern of mural at city hall
EXTERNAL
Dear Council members,
Stop this ridiculous fixation on the precieved racism perpetrated by the Marxist group BLM. Let's deal with the real
problems crime and criminal acts that are occurring everyday. Which wife and I have been victims of. Tell our police that
you support them and give them all the help they need. Many people are leaving the city out of fear, it's scary to walk in
Ocean Park with all the assaults that are occurring everyday in OP and throughout the city. Get control of the illegal
vendors etc. You are losing our once beautiful city to the criminals, to much hand wringing and staff reports, remember
your first duty and obligation is to public safety. Stop building so many apartments and low income housing it's over the
top
Richard Baron
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Vernice Hankins
From:Daniel Galamba <galambadb@hotmail.com>
Sent:Tuesday, May 11, 2021 1:36 PM
To:councilmtgitems; Council Mailbox; Gleam Davis; Councilmember Kevin McKeown; Sue Himmelrich;
Kristin McCowan; Phil Brock; Christine Parra; Oscar de la Torre
Subject:City Council Meeting May 11, 2021 Item 13.F.
EXTERNAL
Dear City Council,
There are plans to destroy our exiting Stanton McDonald Wright mural at the entrance to the City Hall on the basis that
it is racist and depicts exploitation of American Indians. This is simply not the case. The mural depicts Indians showing
the Spanish the Indian Springs at what is now University High School. Upon seeing this the Spanish Padre remarked that
the springs were like the tears of Saint Monica. This is how our City of Santa Monica got its name. Rather than
destroying the existing mural may I suggest that a sign just be placed before it that explains what the mural truly depicts
and this is how our City of Santa Monica got its name. We should be educating the public, not engaging in false claims
for political purposes as was done in the last Presidential election. George Orwell's 1984 should have no place here in
our City of Santa Monica. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Dr Daniel Galamba
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Vernice Hankins
From:Ruthann Lehrer <ruthannpreserves@yahoo.com>
Sent:Tuesday, May 11, 2021 10:49 AM
To:councilmtgitems
Subject:Item 13F
Attachments:SMPL Wright murals.pdf
EXTERNAL
City Council Meeting May11, 2021
Item 13F
Mayor Himmelrich and Councilmembers,
The City Hall murals have been the subject of controversy for several years,
particularly the History mural, as its intent and meaning is easily misunderstood.
The Arts Commission held hearings on this matter in the past, but follow-up action to erect explanatory
information in a plaque or exhibit has not yet happened.
Given the complexity of this issue, and the fact that it comes at the end of the Council agenda, we suggest
that it be re-agendized as a regular council item or study session, so that there can be a fuller discussion
of a plan for understanding both City Hall murals in their historic context as well as how they may be
interpreted today.
For those knowing Santa Monica’s history, the subject matter of the History mural is clear. Two Native
Americans are kneeling by a stream of water, one drinking and the other scooping the water in his hands.
A Spanish soldier and monk are standing opposite. Behind them is a figure on horseback wearing a cloak
and hat.
What is depicted in the mural derives from a famous legend about the naming of Santa Monica. Father
Juan Crespi, one of the diarists of the Portola expedition of 1769 describes arriving at the location of
springs near here, shown to them by friendly Native Americans who also brought food and gifts. The
story goes that Father Crespi remarked that the streams of water reminded him of the tears of Saint
Monica as she lamented over her then-wayward son Augustine before his conversion, as that day was
Saint Monica’s name-day. This story supposedly inspired the naming of our city as Santa Monica. The
springs still exist today, a sacred place restored and tended by descendants of Tongva/Gabrieleno Native
Americans, on the grounds of University High School. What is depicted in the mural shows Native
Americans revealing the natural springs to their visitors, water being a precious resource and the source
of life.
The Native Americans are kneeling because they’re offering the precious water to the new arrivals. The
soldier looks away, out to the sea, with furrowed brow. Is he suggesting the future arrival of more
Spanish invaders who will later subjugate the Native Americans? Quite possibly. The figure on horseback
suggests a later phase of history: the Rancho period, when Spanish and Mexicans appropriated Native
American lands into large agricultural ranchos. This is California history, a history rife with conflict and
injustice.
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A discussion and exchange of opinion on these aspects of our history are well worth having. The mural
provides a touchstone for learning about our history and interpreting it for today’s sensitivities to issues
of social justice.
Covering the mural with a scrim is exactly the opposite of what is needed if we are truly going to engage
the public in “community engagement and education process around the representations depicted in the
mural” (as stated in 13F). These discussions should be established and scheduled as soon as possible,
given our pandemic. The outcome, in terms of educational materials (plaque, website, QR codes) can lead
to an enriched and meaningful educational experience.
The notion of censoring this artwork by covering it up is repellent to a free society. It recalls book
burning, Hitler’s condemnation of “degenerate art,” the Taliban smashing Buddhist historical statues.
Stanton MacDonald-Wright, the mural artist, was a Santa Monica resident and an internationally
renowned leader in the art world. He held the prestigious position as Director of the Southern California
Works Progress Administration (WPA) from 1935-1942, a New Deal program that led to public arts
projects in civic buildings, post offices and the like. The murals at the Santa Monica Main Library are also
his; I am attaching a description of that project for additional information on his work. He created and
inspired public art for the people, and was a charismatic presence in the Los Angeles art scene for many
decades.
Accusing this artist of racism is misguided. He was personally very interested in non-Western cultures,
histories and cultural beliefs. The library murals show what he called “primitive man” as heroic figures,
the beginning of civilization, invention and the arts. The History mural does not glorify anyone but
presents images of California history as it evolved in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Item 13F also requests engaging a contemporary artist to create an artwork that celebrates the diverse
history of Santa Monica’s people, culture and its renewed commitment to equity, justice and respect for
all. That is indeed an important goal yet to be accomplished by the City. But that is a separate matter
from our community discussion about the City Hall murals.
To conclude:
Do not take action to cover the mural(s) but instead establish a community engagement and
education process around the representations depicted in the mural, as recommended in 13F.
Direct an outcome that uses both murals as touchstones for public education on issues of
cultural history and social justice.
Thank you for your consideration of these important matters.
Sincerely,
Ruthann Lehrer
Santa Monica Conservancy
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The Lookout Letter to the editor
Speak Out!Send Letters to editor@santamonicalookout.com
A Colorful Piece of Santa Monica’s Cultural Life Could Be
Lost
By Will South
September 18, 2017 -- Stanton Macdonald-Wright’s mural, History of Santa Monica and the
Bay District (1939–1941), is a work of art. Like every work of art made in the past, it can
communicate different things to different people in the present.
Today, some people feel the depiction of Native Americans in this mural reflects racism and
the dominance of conquerors. That view is understandable given the composition where we
see Native Americans positioned below Europeans.
The "History of Santa Monica" mural is, however, a
complex object, much like the culture that produced it.
Made under the Works Project Administration (WPA)
during the Great Depression, the mural was part of a
nation-wide effort to put people to work during the worst
economic crisis in this country’s history.
The first thing to understand about the mural, then, is that
it was part of a vast federal program aimed at
employment. It was also, of course, a hugely political
venture under President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
"History of Santa Monica" (Courtesy City of Santa Monica )
Administrators of the WPA focused on emphasizing the positive with projects, whether
visual, literary or theatrical, highlighting the richness of America’s land, people and history.
Not surprisingly, a good many murals from this period look like advertisements selling the
“good life” that so many Americans did not experience.
A second point to consider in understanding the "History of Santa Monica" mural is that for
American artists in the 1930s, including Macdonald-Wright, it was important to show
Europe and the rest of the world that America had its own unique history and culture, one
that included Native Americans, immigrants, and, yes, colonists.
This was the era of Regionalism, of Thomas Hart Benton, Grant Wood and John Steuart
Curry. Macdonald-Wright was not particularly a fan of regionalism per se, but he made it
clear that no art should bow to the dictates of Europe, or, in his opinion, New York.
Thirdly, the WPA was also an opportunity to elevate the role art could play in daily life.
Many artists believed that federal support of the arts might continue indefinitely and become
a formal part of our government. (Today, the arts continue to be supported by the federal
government, but that support is a fraction of what it was under the WPA.)
Stanton Macdonald-Wright was the director of the WPA’s art
project for Southern California. In this role, he designed murals
such as the "History of Santa Monica," but he also oversaw the
design of others and approved the design of the majority of
WPA art in the Southland.
He sponsored lectures on the arts, exhibitions, classes, and even
designed a downtown gallery to highlight the work of WPA
artists. The WPA, under administrators like Macdonald-Wright,
could educate as well as entertain, it could even inspire, on
occasion.
A fourth thing to know about the "History of Santa Monica" is
that it depicts the legend of how Santa Monica got its name.
"Self Portrait" Stanton Macdonal Wright (Courtesy of Peyton Wright Gallery)
Father Juan Crespi, part of the Portola expedition of 1769, was taken to a fresh-water spring
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by local natives. According to legend, Crespi said the spring reminded him of the tears of
Santa Monica.
One Native American sits in a casual pose, neither fearful nor paying homage to the standing
figures. The second Native American is kneeling as he drinks, not the activity of one who
kneels subserviently.
Macdonald-Wright skews this narrative toward the ultra-positive in the "History of Santa
Monica" mural, consciously avoiding politics, which he abhorred. The companion mural to
this one in City Hall shows then-contemporary citizens enjoying themselves. Life,
Macdonald-Wright was propagandistically saying, was good before and it still was.
Fifth -- Stanton Macdonald-Wright was not a saint. Few people are. He had his biases.
Indeed, he had his obsessions. He hated to be wrong, and could be mocking of other artists
and art movements. He was both a maverick organizer for the arts, and at the same time an
elitist.
That said, he ran the Art Students League of Los Angeles for decades and all students were
welcome there. He had many Chinese American students, many Japanese American
students. A wide variety of young people came to revere him, despite (and in some cases,
because of) his flaws. He was, in short, a complex person. As we all are.
But, in reviewing the art he made over a long career, it would be difficult to find examples of
him using art to denigrate. Unless, as in the case of the "History of Santa Monica" mural, we
take the mural out of context and make wholly inappropriate comparisons to things like the
Confederate Flag.
Sixth, and lastly, what is at stake here in the debate over this mural is what is always at stake
in a free society: the parameters of our freedoms. Removing this mural, if it were to happen,
could be declared an act of righteousness. Or, an act of censorship.
For Americans, who so cherish our freedoms, censorship should always be the policy of last
resort, used only when a consensus has been reached as to why a given work of art is
injurious to the community.
The solution to the "History of Santa Monica" mural is the public commentary that is
happening now. The detractors must be heard. So, too, must other voices be heard.
If the mural is felt to be deleterious to the community by the majority of Santa Monica City
Council members, then they, representing the citizens of Santa Monica, may vote to support
its removal. This action would be transparent and democratic.
Such an action, however, would not be historically informed. It would represent an extreme
disservice to all of those who might have seen it and discovered something rich and
intriguing in the history of American art.
A colorful piece of Santa Monica’s cultural life would be lost. It would also smack of
censorship, the invisible poison of a free society.
Will South, PhD, is the author of "Color, Myth & Music: Stanton Macdonald-Wright & Synchromism."
Copyright 1999-2017 surfsantamonica.com. All Rights Reserved.
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THE SANTA MONICA PUBLIC LIBRARY MURAL
BY STANTON MACDONALD-WRIGHT
Stanton Macdonald-Wright (1890-1973)
created one of the most extensive mural cycles
in Southern California at the Santa Monica
Public Library in the mid-1930’s. Covering over
2,000 square feet of wall, and including 160
figures, it amazed visitors when it was unveiled
on August 25, 1935. The mural series was on
view for three decades before it was dismantled
when the library moved. Because it had been
created as part of the New Deal art projects,
the mural was transferred to the federal
government. Most of the series remained in
storage for many years near Washington, D.C.
In 2005 the mural was returned on loan from
the Smithsonian American Art Museum to be
conserved and reinstalled in the new Main
Library when it opened in January 2006.
Macdonald-Wright was California’s first internationally acclaimed modern artist. Raised in Santa Monica, he
moved to Europe in 1909 to continue his art studies and was influenced by some of Europe’s most avant-garde
art circles. He soon met another American painter Morgan Russell (1886-1953), and together they founded the
color abstraction movement, Synchromism, exhibiting in Munich, Paris and New York. In the fall of 1918,
Macdonald-Wright returned to Los Angeles where he disrupted the staid, Impressionist-dominated art world with
his progressive modernist theories and painting.
By 1934 America was in the grips of the Great Depression, and like other unemployed workers, artists sought
relief from President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal programs that were designed to put people back to work. It
was Macdonald-Wright’s own idea to paint a mural for the library. His proposal was enthusiastically received by
city of Santa Monica officials, and money was quickly raised for materials. The mural was initially sponsored by
the short-lived Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) and was begun in February 1934. It was completed 18 months
later under the auspices of the State Emergency Relief Administration (SERA). Macdonald-Wright painted the
mural entirely by himself, working without compensation so that technicians could be hired to help with prepara-
tion and installation.
Macdonald-Wright explained to Mayor William H. Carter and other city administrators that his intention was “to
create a work that will have a meaning for people from every country of the globe.” It is significant that the artist
abandoned abstraction in favor of creating a narrative that was understandable to the ordinary man-on-the-street
with some mural scenes resembling book illustrations or movie clips. What Macdonald-Wright did retain,
however, was his brilliantly-hued palette: golden yellows, flaming oranges, deep reds, delicate pinks, and lively
greens give the mural his distinctive mark.
The mural cycle covered every available wall of the reading room of the Main Library, then located at 503 Santa
Monica Boulevard. It was painted on more than 30 plywood panels that were originally positioned above
bookcases, across archways, and around doors and windows, resulting in the unique shapes of many of the
panels. When visitors entered the library their attention was directed to the opposite (north) wall above and
behind the circulation desk where the mural began. There scenes from prehistory with primitives battling enormous
monster spirits set the historical tone. The rest of the mural followed two narrative streams of human development:
the creative arts’ panels wrapped around the room along the northeast, east and southeast walls; and scientific
achievements were depicted on the opposite side of the room along the northwest, west and southwest walls.
Stanton Macdonald-Wright at the Unveiling of the Library Mural in 1935
Santa Monica Public Library Image Archives
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Large mural cycles about the history of mankind had become a well-established tradition for public buildings in the
United States. Macdonald-Wright began the arts narrative with Asian philosophers and famous ancient myths, moving
through 18th- and 19th-century German music to contemporary musicians and ending with the American poet and
short-story writer Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849). He traced scientific and technical achievements from ancient Greece
through the Renaissance to the modern utilization of electricity and other energy sources, culminating with the figure of
Lee H. De Forest (1873-1961), a pioneer in sound, radio, and the motion picture industry. Macdonald-Wright
explained:
The … two streams of human development: one technical, the other imaginative … coalesce and fuse in what
perhaps holds the greatest potentialities for art expression invented by man—the medium of the moving
picture. Those who have been in a moving picture stage and laboratory during the filming of a picture know
what a great role the inventions along the lines of precision machinery, chemistry, and electricity, play in the
process.
Macdonald-Wright was one of the first of many muralists working in the 1930’s to slant his historical presentation to
local achievements. He set noted Santa Monicans, actors Gloria Stuart (b. 1910) and Leo Carrillo (1880-1961),
before a backdrop that is a glorious panorama of Santa Monica Bay. Motion pictures not only represented a
hometown industry to Macdonald-Wright but also related to his life-long experiments with film and color. Other
autobiographical elements appear in other panels. The lariat thrower is his friend, artist Thomas Hart Benton; the dog
in the prologue is his own; and the painter at an easel is his father, to whom the mural is dedicated.
Contrary to the typically European-centered attitudes of most American muralists of the time, Macdonald-Wright’s
interests were wide-ranging. He was as well versed in Asian philosophy as he was in Western modern painting,
appreciating various cultures with equal passion. Indeed, it was in the 1930’s that he began seriously exploring the
arts and religious beliefs of Asia through reading and travel. In his painted history of humanity’s accomplishments, he
balanced emblems from the West with those of the East. His choice of personalities (both actual and mythical)
demonstrated his multicultural perspective: from Aristotle and Socrates to Confucius, Buddha, and LaoTzu.
Traditionally a mural is a fresco painted in wet plaster that becomes a permanent part of the wall. Muralists in the
United States broke with that practice by painting on canvas instead. Macdonald-Wright, however, had plywood
panels specially prepared. This technique, termed “portable murals,” was also utilized by famed Mexican muralist
Diego Rivera (1886-1957) in the early 1930’s. Such a procedure enabled easy removal from the wall if necessary.
This is exactly what happened in 1965 when the library moved to a newly-constructed building located at 1343 Sixth
Street. Deemed too old-fashioned, the Depression-era mural cycle was not transferred to the new facility, and the
federal government took possession of all the mural panels.
Macdonald-Wright went on to become active in public art. From 1935 to 1942 he worked tirelessly as both an artist
and a local administrator for the largest of the government art projects, the Works Progress Administration’s Federal
Art Project (WPA/FAP). But it was the Santa Monica Public Library Mural that began this aspect of his career.
Fortunately, with the mural’s conservation and reinstallation on the second floor of the new Main Library, it is now
possible for new generations to enjoy this historically significant work.
Text: Ilene Susan Fort, Mural Consultant
THE SANTA MONICA PUBLIC LIBRARY MURAL
BY STANTON MACDONALD-WRIGHT
The City of Santa Monica wishes to thank the Smithsonian American Art Museum for the loan of the mural.
Conservation and installation of the mural was by ConservArt Associates and funded by the City of Santa Monica
and the California Cultural and Historical Endowment.
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