Millard Owen Sheets (June 24, 1907 – March 31, 1989) was an American artist, teacher, and architectural designer. He was one of the earliest of the California Scene Painting artists and helped define the art movement. Many of his large-scale building-mounted mosaics from the mid-20th century are still extant in Southern California. His paintings are in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum in New York, the Chicago Art Institute, the National Gallery in Washington D.C.; and the Los Angeles County Museum.

Early life and education

Millard Sheets was born June 24, 1907, and grew up in the Pomona Valley, east of Los Angeles. He is the son of John Gosper Sheets (1878–1947) and Marilla Mae Owen (1883–1907). He attended the

Chouinard Art Institute The Chouinard Art Institute was a professional art school founded in 1921 by Nelbert Murphy Chouinard (1879–1969) in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. In 1961, Walt and Roy Disney guided the merger of the Chouinard Art In ...

and studied with painters

Frank Tolles Chamberlin Frank Tolles Chamberlin (March 10, 1873 - July 24, 1961) was an American painter, muralist, sculptor, and art teacher. He studied at the Art Students League with George DeForest Brush and George Bridgman. He taught for four years at the Beaux Art ...

and

Clarence Hinkle Clarence Keiser Hinkle (June 19, 1880 – July 21, 1960) was an American painter and art educator. His art studio was in Laguna Beach, California and later in Santa Barbara, California. Early life and education Hinkle was born on June 19, 1880, i ...

. While he was still a teenager, his watercolors were accepted for exhibition in the annual California Water Color Society show. By the age of 19, he was elected into membership of the California Water Color Society. The following year he was hired to teach watercolor painting even before his graduation from Chouinard.

Career

In 1929 he won second prize in the Texas Wildflowers Competitive Exhibitions, and the generous award allowed Sheets to travel to Europe for a year to further his art education. By the early 1930s he began to achieve national recognition as a prominent American artist. He was exhibiting in Paris, New York City, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Houston, St. Louis, San Antonio, San Francisco,

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, N ...

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

, and many other cities throughout the United States. In Los Angeles he was recognized as the leading figure and driving force behind the California Style watercolor movement. Between 1935 and 1941, his recognition, awards, and output increased, winning him repeated mention in '' Art Digest'' and a color reproduction of his work in the book ''Eyes on America''. In 1935 at age 28, he was the subject of a monograph published in Los Angeles. In 1943, he painted four murals at the Main Interior Building in Washington, D.C. in the subject of “The Negro’s Contribution in the Social and Cultural Development of America.” His art sales enabled him to travel again to Europe,

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. C ...

, and Hawaii, where he painted on location. Although his watercolor techniques during this period ranged from very tight to very loose, a consistent, he nevertheless exhibited a personal style. During World War II, he was an artist-correspondent for '' Life'' and the United States Army Air Forces in India and

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

. Many of his works from this period document the scenes of famine, war, and death that he witnessed. His wartime experience also informed his post-war art for a number of years, where while painting in California and Mexico in the 1940s his work followed dark hues and depressing subjects. After the 1950s his style shifted toward brighter colors and subjects from his worldwide travels. Watercolor and oil painting were only part of Sheets's art career. Through his teaching at

Otis Art Institute Otis College of Art and Design is a private art and design school in Los Angeles, California. Established in 1918, it was the city's first independent professional school of art. The main campus is located in the former IBM Aerospace headquarte ...

Scripps College Scripps College is a private liberal arts women's college in Claremont, California. It was founded as a member of the Claremont Colleges in 1926, a year after the consortium's formation. Journalist and philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps pro ...

and other institutions, hundreds of artists learned how to paint, and were then guided into art careers. He directed the art exhibition at the

Los Angeles County Fair The Los Angeles County Fair is an annual county fair. It was first held on October 17, 1922, and ran for five days through October 21, 1922, in a former beet field in Pomona, California. Highlights of the fair's first year were harness racing, ...

for many years and brought world-class work to Southern California. During the Great Depression, he joined forces with Edward Bruce to hire artists for the

Public Works of Art Project The Public Works of Art Project (PWAP) was a New Deal program designed to employ artists that operated from 1933 to 1934. The program was headed by Edward Bruce, under the United States Treasury Department with funding from the Civil Works Admin ...

, the first New Deal art project. In 1946, he served as a president of the California Water Color Society. In later years, he worked as an architect, illustrator, muralist, printmaker, and art exhibition juror. Outside of California, he took on commissions for the

Detroit Public Library The Detroit Public Library is the second largest library system in the U.S. state of Michigan by volumes held (after the University of Michigan Library) and the 21st-largest library system (and the fourth-largest public library system) in the U ...

, the

Mayo Clinic The Mayo Clinic () is a nonprofit American academic medical center focused on integrated health care, education, and research. It employs over 4,500 physicians and scientists, along with another 58,400 administrative and allied health staff, ...

, the dome of the National Shrine, the University of Notre Dame library, the Hilton Hotel in Honolulu, and the

Mercantile National Bank Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct excha ...

in Dallas. In 1953, Sheets was appointed director of Otis Art Institute (later named

Otis College of Art and Design Otis College of Art and Design is a private art and design school in Los Angeles, California. Established in 1918, it was the city's first independent professional school of art. The main campus is located in the former IBM Aerospace headquarte ...

). Under his leadership, the school's academic program was restructured to offer BFA and MFA degrees, and a ceramics department was created, headed by Peter Voulkos. During that time, a ceramics building, gallery, library, and studio wing were completed. By the time Sheets left Otis in 1962, the form and direction of the college had changed dramatically.

Millard Sheets Art Center

The Millard Sheets Art Center first began as the Fine Arts Program of the

in 1922. The 20,000+ square-foot art center was built in 1937 by the Works Progress Administration to house the program, the first major gallery dedicated solely to art in Los Angeles County. Each year, the gallery provided visitors to the Los Angeles County Fair with access to art work found throughout the world. In 1994 the building was dedicated to Millard Sheets, and in 2013 was identified by

Fairplex Fairplex has been the home of the L.A. County Fair since 1922. Known prior to 1984 as the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds, it is located in the city of Pomona, California. The L.A. County Fair is held during the month of May since 2022, but the fa ...

as the home for year-round art education and exhibitions and is currently a part of The Learning Centers at Fairplex.

Work

Mosaic murals at Home Savings Bank branches

In the late 1950s, Sheets was commissioned by Howard F. Ahmanson to design Home Savings Bank branches throughout Southern California that would serve as community landmarks by expressing "community values" or presenting "a celebratory version of the community history." To accomplish this goal, Sheets designed his branch buildings with exterior façades containing large mosaic works depicting local heritage. The Ahmanson commissions multiplied to include more than 80 branch buildings after the initial 1955 commission. Sheets resigned his teaching position at

and established the Sheets Studio in Claremont, California, employing a series of artists. Sheets produced these mosaics as commercial commissions, and although titles for some of the works might have been known when they were unveiled, they were not often recorded. Nevertheless they are now considered official

public art Public art is art in any media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and physically acces ...

, and in the absence of a formal Sheets Studio title they are titled by their images or theme. Although they enjoy some protections under the California Arts Preservation Act, many have been destroyed.

List of Home Savings branches with Millard Sheets Studios artwork

According to researcher Adam Arenson, there were 168 Home Savings of America locations with some kind of Millard Sheets design contribution (including signage). However over time many of the mosaic murals have been removed from the facade of the buildings; some of which have been relocated to museums. Mosaic murals, bronze sculptures, and stained glass designed by the Sheets Studio were placed at scores of bank branches throughout California. The art’s highly localized themes made them community landmarks for many neighborhoods and cities. * 9245 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, * 6311 Manchester Blvd., Buena Park, * 8010 Beach Blvd., Buena Park, * Sunset and Vine, Hollywood, * 660 S. Figueroa Street, Los Angeles * 4 West Redlands Blvd., Redlands * 27319 Hawthorne Blvd.,

Rolling Hills Estates Rolling Hills Estates is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. On the northern side of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, facing Torrance, Rolling Hills Estates is mostly residential. Incorporated in 1957, Rolling Hills Estates has ...

* Mission Beach and Pacific Beach, San Diego; “The Harbor” and “Children’s Zoo” plus 6 historical character mosaics, wall painting inside * 2750 Van Ness, Lombard Street and Van Ness, San Francisco, * 98 West Portal Avenue, San Francisco * 2600 Wilshire Blvd., Santa Monica * 12051 Ventura Blvd., Studio City File:Grilling Season Is Here!.jpg, La Mesa, San Diego mosaic mural File:Millard Sheet Classical Greek Mosaic on Bank Building in Pomona.jpg, alt=, "Early Pomona Family" (1962) mosaic mural in Pomona File:Children’s Zoo mosaic mural by Millard Sheets Studio.jpg, "Children’s Zoo" mosaic mural in San Diego File:“The Harbor” mosaic mural by Millard Sheets Studio.jpg, alt=, “The Harbor” mosaic mural in San Diego File:Photograph of tile mosaic mural by artist Millard Sheets , located in the west portal neighborhood of San Francisco, Ca.jpg, alt=in San Francisco, mosaic mural (1977) in West Portal, San Francisco File:Western Theme Mosaic on Chase Bank, Buena Park, California.jpg, alt=, "Scenes of the Old West" (1979) mosaic mural in Buena Park

Other notable work

* (1934)'' Southern California landscape,'' dining room wall painting for homeowners Fred H. and Bessie Ranke in the

Hollywood Hills The Hollywood Hills are a residential neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Geography The Hollywood Hills straddle the Cahuenga Pass within the Santa Monica Mountains. The neighborhood touches Studio City, Univer ...

, moved in 2014 to the Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, California. * (1934) ''Tenement Flats'' A painting in the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum done during the Depression for the

and chosen to hang in the White House to show President Roosevelt's commitment to the arts and the American people. * (1939) ''Early California'' Three relief panels, stainless steel and enamel, installed at Mark Keppel High School,

Alhambra, California Alhambra (, , ; from "Alhambra") is a city located in the western San Gabriel Valley region of Los Angeles County, California, United States, approximately eight miles from the Downtown Los Angeles civic center. It was incorporated on July 1 ...

* (1948) ''The Negro's Contribution in the Social and Cultural Development of America'' – murals on first floor of the Main Interior Building at U.S. Department of the Interior Building,

U.S. Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government headquartered at the Main Interior Building, located at 1849 C Street NW in Washington, D.C. It is responsible for the mana ...

, 1849 C St. NW, Washington, DC * (1956) ''Panorama of the Pomona Valley'', 77 foot long painted mural, Pomona First Federal Bank, Pomona, California * (1961) Scottish Rite Masonic Temple on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, designed and completed in 1961. For decades the building was considered "one of Los Angeles's most notorious real estate white elephants." Though largely vacant since 1994, it was used as a location for the 2004 adventure film '' National Treasure'' starring Nicolas Cage, concerning a fictional long-running Masonic conspiracy. It was refurbished in 2016 to house the

Marciano Art Foundation The Marciano Art Foundation (formally named the Maurice and Paul Marciano Art Foundation) was a non-profit arts foundation located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Mid-Wilshire neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It was established by the co-fo ...

museum. * (1961) Murals (one 24 ft., one 36 ft.) for the Palomare Room restaurant in

Buffums Buffums, originally written as Buffums' with an apostrophe, was a chain of upscale department stores, headquartered in Long Beach, California. The Buffums chain began in 1904, when two brothers from Illinois, Charles A. and Edwin E. Buffum, ...

department store, Pomona Mall in Sheets' native Pomona, portraying early Spanish settlement of the Pomona Valley. Sheets also designed the pedestrian mall itself. * (1963) ''Three Scenes From Shakespeare'' – A building-mounted mosaic of three vignettes from ''

Antony and Cleopatra ''Antony and Cleopatra'' (First Folio title: ''The Tragedie of Anthonie, and Cleopatra'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play was first performed, by the King's Men, at either the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre in around ...

'', ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with ''Ham ...

'', and '' Macbeth'', Garrison Theater,

, Claremont, California. *(1964) ''

Word of Life mural Theodore Hesburgh Library is the primary building of the University of Notre Dame's library system. The present-day building opened on September 18, 1963, as Memorial Library. In 1987, it was renamed Hesburgh Library, in honor of Rev. Theodore Hesb ...

'' – A large mural on the side of the

Hesburgh Library Theodore Hesburgh Library is the primary building of the University of Notre Dame's library system. The present-day building opened on September 18, 1963, as Memorial Library. In 1987, it was renamed Hesburgh Library, in honor of Rev. Theodore Hesb ...

at the University of Notre Dame in

South Bend, Indiana South Bend is a city in and the county seat of St. Joseph County, Indiana, on the St. Joseph River near its southernmost bend, from which it derives its name. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total of 103,453 residents and is the fourt ...

. Commonly known among football fans as ''Touchdown Jesus'' because of its depiction of Jesus with upraised arms, similar to the official's signal for a touchdown. *(1966) ''Loyola Marymount Tapestry'', Foley Communication Arts Center,

Loyola Marymount University Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit and Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. It is located on the west side of the city near P ...

, Los Angeles, California *(1968) ''Rainbow Murals'' at

Hilton Hawaiian Village The Hilton Hawaiian Village Waikiki Beach Resort is a resort hotel on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu, Hawaii. The resort first opened in 1955, and since has grown to become the largest in the Hilton chain of hotels, and one of largest hotels in t ...

*(1971) ''The Family of Man'', mural at James K. Hahn City Hall East,

Los Angeles Mall The Los Angeles Mall is a small shopping center and series of plazas (public squares) at the Los Angeles Civic Center, between Main and Los Angeles Streets on the north and south sides of Temple Street, connected by both a pedestrian bridge an ...

Civic Center, Los Angeles The Civic Center neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, is the administrative core of the City of Los Angeles, County of Los Angeles, and a complex of city, county, state, and federal government offices, buildings, and courthouses. It is locat ...

, California *(1974) ''Horse Haven'' *(1975) ''Drinkers of the Wind'' *(1976) ''Rosemary'' *(1977) ''Two Young Girs and Roosters,'' Mo'orea,

French Polynesia )Territorial motto: ( en, "Great Tahiti of the Golden Haze") , anthem = , song_type = Regional anthem , song = " Ia Ora 'O Tahiti Nui" , image_map = French Polynesia on the globe (French Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of Frenc ...

*(1977) 20 x 30 foot painted mural, San Jose International Airport, San Jose, California; originally in terminal C, moved in 2010 to terminal B. *(1978) ''Sunday Morning,'' Mo'orea *(1979) ''Fields and Windmills - Portugal,'' Watercolor, 21 x 29 inches, signed lower right *(1980) ''Elegant Ancient Cypress,'' Watercolor, 22 x 30 inches, signed lower right *(1980) ''The Pines of Monterey - Deer with Sun and Shadow,'' Watercolor, 22 x 30 inches, signed lower right *(1983) ''Lake Chapala, Mexico,'' watercolor, 22 x 30 inches, signed lower right *(1987) ''Tribute to our Heritage'', mural,

Lubbock Memorial Civic Center The Lubbock Memorial Civic Center is a convention center located in Lubbock, Texas. It was built in 1977 and dedicated to the memory of local residents who died in the Lubbock tornado of 1970 that struck the site of the center. Concluding in Nove ...

Death

Sheets died on March 31, 1989, at his home in Anchor Bay in Mendocino County, California, after a long illness. A service was held at his home and at the First Unitarian Church of San Diego. Sheets had four children. His youngest son, Tony Sheets, has worked in restoring his father's murals, including the mural in San Jose, California. The Paul Bockhorst documentary film, “Design for Modern Living: Millard Sheets and the Claremont Art Community 1935–1975” (2015) was released posthumous.

Awards

The following are awards Sheets won, among others: * Watson F. Blair Purchase Prize, Chicago Art Institute (1938) * Philadelphia Watercolor Club Prize (1939) * Dana Watercolor Medal, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (1943) * Drawing Prize, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (1946) * Gold Brush Award, Artists Guild of Chicago, Award of the Year (1951) * Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana (1964)

References

External links

* *
AdamArenson.com “Banking on Beauty” spreadsheet/PDF and map

Millard Sheets: A Legacy of Art and Architecture
(complete PDF booklet about his work created for the Getty Pacific Standard Time project by the Los Angeles Conservancy)
Interview of Millard Sheets
Oral history interview with Millard Sheets, 1986 October-1988 July. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
List of artworks by Millard Sheets at the Smithsonian American Art Museum"1934: A New Deal for Artists" (exhibition on the Great Depression featuring Millard Sheets and his contemporaries), Smithsonian American Art MuseumCalifornia WatercolorList of artworks by Millard Sheets at the Ruth Chandler Wiliamson Gallery of Scripps CollegeMillard Sheets papers, circa 1907-2000
at

Archives of American Art The Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 20 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washing ...

, Smithsonian Institution {{DEFAULTSORT:Sheets, Millard 1907 births 1989 deaths Painters from California American watercolorists 20th-century American painters American male painters People from Pomona, California Architects from California Chouinard Art Institute alumni Otis College of Art and Design faculty 20th-century American architects Scripps College faculty Mosaic artists World War II artists