Closing events for the 100th anniversary of the Panama-Pacific Expo

Throughout 2015, the PPIE100, a citywide consortium of cultural, civic, and historical organizations, has conducted centennial programs to commemorate the PPIE’s historical significance and to reflect on its legacy. Yet, even as the city celebrates the triumphs of 1915, "The Palace of Fine Arts", the sole surviving building from the PPIE and Bernard Maybeck’s masterpiece, is slated to be turned over to private development companies who have proposed a host of money making ventures including a hotel, a restaurant, a gym and a spa. The rotunda, the columns, the temple in the lagoon and a performing art space are to be preserved. But the three final plans all incorporate commercial venues like hotels and restaurants, which will bring hundreds more cars into the already congested location.

A local group, calling itself “Save the Palace of Fine Arts” has already collected 20,000+ signatures calling on the San Francisco Department of Parks and Recreation to use the space exclusively as a cultural and educational center. They face powerful opposition but, as in 1915, it’s not wise to underestimate the love that San Franciscan’s have for their city and their willingness to fight to preserve the legacy of the past.

On Friday, December 4, 2015. celebrate the final night of the Ferry Building's bright '1915" neon sign in honor of the centennial. The lights will go out on December 4, 2015, the same day the fair closed a century ago, and the Ferry Building will be restored to its 21st Century appearance

 More on the closing events here: http://www.examiner.com/article/closing-events-for-the-100th-anniversary-of-the-panama-pacific-expo?CID=examiner_alerts_article

Willard Worton 'Portals of the Past' at the de Young

 Tower of Jewels, 1915

For those who love the PPIE and the glory of that era, this exhibit is a must see. Photos range from 1904 through 1915; this man was a photographic genius and I have to say that I like his photos better than the more crisp modern black and white.

My main criticism of the exhibit is that the curator didn't seem to realize how photographers like Wooden were influenced by Stieglitz's early romantic photography. I felt that a some of the photos were a direct homage to Stieglitz. But that's a minor quibble. The whole PPIE exhibit is fantastic but this gives us a look at the SF that was - and alas, is no more: 

http://www.examiner.com/article/willard-worton-s-portals-of-the-past-at-the-de-young?CID=examiner_alerts_article

Art from San Francisco's 1915 Panama-Pacific International Expo

One of the few images from the original show, showing the salon style of hanging which was popular at the time.

Review of the show here: http://www.examiner.com/article/art-from-sf-s-panama-pacific-international-exposition-revisited?CID=examiner_alerts_article

Edwin Deakin (American, b. England, 1838–1923), “Palace of Fine

Arts and the Lagoon,” ca. 1915. Oil on canvas. 32 3/8 × 48 3/8 in.

Crocker Art Museum

E. Charlton Fortune, The Four Seasons),” ca. 1915. Oil on canvas. 16 1/4 × 20 in.

Moonlight (Panama Pacific International Exposition),” ca. 1915. Soft- ground etching in color. 6 7/8 x 4 3/4 in. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

Benjamin Chambers Brown (American, 1865-1942), “Art Palace, Reflections (Panama Pacific International Exposition),” ca. 1915. Soft-ground etching in color. 6 7/8x 4 7/8 in. Fine Arts Museums 

Bruce Nelson (American, 1888–1952), “The Summer Sea,” ca. 1914. Oil on canvas. 30 × 40 in. Irvine Museum, California

Cecilia Beaux (American, 1855 –1942), “Man with the Cat (Henry Sturgis Drinker),” 1898. Oil on canvas. 48 × 34 5/8 in. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC, bequest of Henry Ward Ranger through the National Academy of Design

Edwin Austin Abbey (American, 1852–1911), “The Penance of Eleanor, Duchess of Gloucester,” 1900. Oil on canvas. 49 × 85 in. Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh

Francis McComas (America, b. Australia, 1874-1938), “Navajo

Gateway, Arizona,” 1914. Watercolor. 26 3⁄4 x 21 1/16 in. Fine Arts

Museums of San Francisco, museum purchase, Skae Fund Legacy

John Singer Sargent (American, b. Italy, 1856–1925), “The Sketchers,” 1913. Oil on canvas. 22 × 28 in. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Arthur and Margaret Glasgow Fund