Sally Arnot

CREATING THE HUMBOLDT ART SCENE, BRICK BUY BRICK

She started the “Brick Buy Brick” campaign – people contributed money to have their name appear on bricks and tiles in the museum and grounds.

by David Kaftal

courtesy HumboldtArts.org

It’s hard not to fall in love with her the fi rst time you meet Sally Arnot. Those striking silver locks of hair, her elegant style, and that shy, beautiful smile disarm and captivate. But behind that lovely exterior beats the heart of a lioness for art. When you look at the evolution of the North Coast art scene, there were certain people who really helped get things off the ground. Any short list would have to include Dr. Homer Balabanis, who founded the Humboldt Arts Council; Morris Graves, whose donated artwork anchors the permanent collection of the HAC’s museum named in his honor; Mayor Gil Trood, an early supporter of the HAC; and certainly Muriel Dinsmore. But there might not even be a Morris Graves Museum or a thriving Humboldt Arts Council if it wasn’t for Sally Arnot’s vision, hard work, and determination. She was born and raised in Eureka, and since her earliest school days had a deep love of art. As a little girl, Sally frequented the magnifi cent Carnegie Free Library, which served the area from 1904 to 1972. Built with money donated by the famed philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, it was one of over 2,500 Carnegie libraries built between 1883 and 1929 worldwide. The building was designed in the Classical Revival style by local architects Knowles Evans and B.C. Tarver. It was considered by many one of the most beautiful Carnegie libraries ever built, and was listed on the National Register of Historic places in 1986. Sally continued her education, graduating from Eureka High in 1956 with plans to attend Humboldt State College, as it was then known. As often happens, however, life intervened. In 1957 she married Philip Arnot and moved with him to San Francisco. He studied law and Sally took art classes at various schools in between doing title searches and real estate work. Five years after moving to San Francisco, they returned to Humboldt County. Children came along in 1964 and ’66. 1966 was also the year HSU’s Dr. Homer Balabanis founded the Humboldt Art Council.

In 1969 HAC Board member Muriel Dinsmore, who passed away in 2018 (see page 10), asked Sally if she would be the Art Chair for the Christmas Art and Music Festival at the Eureka Inn, the beautiful old Tudor-style Eureka landmark. The festival is still fondly remembered for its amazing art and the music that emanated from the Inn during those heady days – and who can forget the huge Christmas tree in the lobby that had different artistic themes every year? Sally accepted Muriel’s invitation, and thus began an extraordinary career melding civic involvement with the arts.

Authorized by the Humboldt Arts Council but personally unknown (“Can you imagine, they didn’t know me from anyone!”), she went to San Francisco to acquire art to exhibit, and acquire she did. She came back with pieces from the Museum of Modern Art and the de Young, including a Diego Rivera. It wasn’t an easy trip – she got stuck for hours at a landslide along Hwy 101 with the precious pieces wrapped in blankets in the back of her station wagon! In 1970 Sally joined the Humboldt Art Council’s Board of Directors, and in 1971 was instrumental, along with her husband Philip, in establishing the Arts Council as a 501(c)(3) nonprofi t.

About a year later, the Humboldt Cultural Center was born. It was housed in the E. Janssen Building on First Street, an Italianate commercial structure (originally a hardware store) built

Sally Arnot

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Boats at Harbor, painting by Sally Arnot

Sally Arnot at fundraiser, courtesy HumboldtArts.org Sally Arnot with Floyd Bettiga, HumboldtArts.org

in 1875. The building was leased to the Arts Council by its owners, Ray and Dolores Vellutini; prior to that, Sally recalls, they’d held exhibits at commercial galleries on F Street and at the Pierson Building on Sixth and G. Over the next few years the Arts Council brought major traveling art shows there from San Francisco and Los Angeles, and showed the work of local artists. They also organized classical music performances and opera recitals, and played a key role in helping revitalize Old Town through such projects as their Phantom Galleries, which turned vacant buildings into locations where artists could exhibit their work while showcasing the charms of those unrented properties. One local artist, whose work had been creating a stir for decades, was a transplanted Seattle painter named Morris Graves. He had fallen in love with Humboldt County, and moved here in 1965. Morris Graves was an internationally recognized abstract expressionist, and a leading light of the Northwest School. His fi rst Humboldt County exhibit was at the Cultural Center. Around 1990 Graves donated his entire personal collection to the Arts Council, including pieces by Jean Arp and Mark Tobey (the latter another luminary of the Northwest School). As busy as Sally’s life was becoming, she managed to tackle an item from her bucket list that had been put aside but never forgotten. In 1982 Sally found time to graduate from HSU with a degree in Art History. It was a fulfi llment of a long cherished goal, but also a testament to her amazing work ethic. 1994 brought some serious growing pains and complications for the Cultural Center. The City of Eureka was required by the State of California to retrofi t any unreinforced masonry structures to meet seismic safety standards or be torn down. Major repercussions ensued. For starters, the Cultural Center had to move from the E. Janssen Building while it was retrofi tted. The Arts Council ended up in a rented space on E Street, where they held a series of public meetings. They had a wonderful art collection but needed a place to exhibit it. The City of Eureka approached them and said that they would be willing to sell them the Carnegie Library Building, which had been closed to the public for 20 years. There was a catch, however – it also needed to be retrofi tted, and the Arts Council would have to agree to take on the project. Money was a huge concern. It was going to take a minimum of a million dollars just to retrofi t the building and make the initial renovations necessary to convert the space from a library to a museum. And that was just Phase 1. The HAC agreed to undertake the restoration. They signed a lease with the city in 1996 and moved into the library building. They tore down a few partitions, painted the walls, and held their fi rst art exhibit. Sally said, “The whole community was so excited, and that’s when we began the fundraising.” It was a daunting task and a staggering amount of money

Morris Graves, photo courtesy of Morris Graves Foundation Eureka Carnegie Free Library, c. 1904, courtesy HumboldtArts.org

The City of Eureka ... sold the Carnegie

Building to the Humboldt Arts Council for one dollar. Philip Arnot gave Eureka

Mayor Nancy Fleming a 1904 silver dollar (1904 was the year Eureka’s Carnegie

Free Library opened its doors) ...

to raise in a small community. But, Sally thought, “The community really wants this, and we can do it!” And so she jumped in, spearheading the fundraising effort. She started the “Brick Buy Brick” campaign – people contributed money to have their name appear on bricks and tiles in the museum and grounds. There were naming opportunities galore – contributors could have galleries and other areas of the museum named after themselves or loved ones. Morris Graves and the Morris Graves Foundation contributed cash and artwork of such immense value that the museum itself, which was to have been named the Humboldt Cultural Center and Regional Art Museum, became instead the Morris Graves Museum of Art. Other large contributors included the Arkleys, Schmidbauers, Bill Pierson, the Eureka Rotary Club, and the Kresge Foundation. Peter Pennekamp, the Humboldt Area Foundation Executive Director, was a big supporter, providing encouragement and helping to open doors to writing some of the bigger grants. When interviewed, Sally enthusiastically rattled off name after name of people who stepped forward to make it happen. In her own words she said, “Just know that what the Arts Council has done is an effort by the community. It’s the people who loved the arts, who loved the Carnegie Building, that all came forward together and worked together to make it happen.”

The City of Eureka was true to its word and sold the Carnegie Building to the Humboldt Arts Council for one dollar. Philip Arnot gave Eureka Mayor Nancy Fleming a 1904 silver dollar – 1904 was the year Eureka’s Carnegie Free Library opened its doors – and the deed was done. On January 1, 2000, the Morris Graves Museum of Art held its Grand Opening. Eureka’s thriving art scene is now the envy of many cities nationwide. Not only is recognition coming in from across California and the entire United States, but our economy is benefi tting from its commerce. Old Town has been transformed, and other areas along the North Coast have been inspired by the example and “can do” spirit of Sally Arnot. She has been an “Angel for the Arts,” and we are eternally indebted to her passion and example.