Pleasures Along the Beach
Artist
Millard Owen Sheets
(1907 - 1989)
Date1969-1970
MediumItalian glass smalti, vitreous and chunky tesserae (tiles)
Dimensions198 x 480"
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LineGift of Wilshire-26, LLC
Object number2019.186
DescriptionMILLARD SHEETS (1907-1989) In collaboration with NANCY COLBATH and DENIS O’CONNOR
Pleasures Along the Beach
1969-70
Murano glass tesserae mosaic
16.5 feet x 40 feet
Gift of Wilshire26 to the Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University
Millard Sheets’ mosaic Pleasures Along the Beach, which adorned the façade of the Home Savings and Loan building at 2600 Wilshire Boulevard in downtown Santa Monica for more than 50 years, was gifted by its owners to the Hilbert Museum in 2020 when the building was scheduled for demolition.
This mosaic was part of an extraordinary partnership between financier Howard Ahmanson (1906-1968) and Sheets, which offered Sheets complete control of the design, budget, subject matter and all decorative features for the Home Savings branch offices. Over 25 years, this collaboration between one of America’s top artists, his studio workshop of superb artists and artisans, and the nation’s then-largest savings and loan institution produced more than 160 richly decorated buildings throughout California, Texas, New York, Florida, Ohio, Illinois and Missouri.
Each of those buildings was brilliantly adorned with Midcentury Modern murals, glass-tile mosaics, stained glass and sculptures from the Sheets Studio in Pomona. The decorative designs, different in every location, celebrate the unique history and culture of each local community.
“I want buildings that will be exciting 75 years from now,” Ahmanson told Sheets in 1953. Their remarkable collaboration resulted in buildings and artistic designs that helped shape the urban cultural landscape of California for many decades. However, today – sooner than Ahmanson thought -- many of the former Home Savings buildings are endangered. Some have already been torn down, or their art has been removed, painted over or damaged. Some have been saved by preservationists and local advocates.
The Hilbert Museum, with significant assistance and consultation from Mark and Janet Hilbert and Tony Sheets (Millard’s son), is proud to have played a part in preserving this beautiful mosaic and ensuring that it will be enjoyed here by many generations to come.
Restored by Brian Worley Art & Restoration
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