A Heritage of Tile of the South Coast

NOTICIAS Quarterly Magazine Of The Santa Barbara Historical Society Vol. XLII. No. 3

Autumn 1996

A Heritage of Tile ON THE South Coast

N THIS ANTHOLOGY ISSUE OF NoTiciAs, fivc auchors cakc a look ac the history and heri tage of tile on the South Coast. Don Shorts discusses the revival of the tile industry in Southern California in the 1920s and 1930s; Joseph Taylor looks ac how this revival played out on the South Coast; and three auchors then focus in on three examples of the tile maker's arc in our community: Marjorie Hayes on the Santa Barbara County Courthouse, Jean Goodrich on Casa del Herrav in Moncecico, and Judith Sutcliffe on the Moncecico estate. Lotusland.

THE AUTHORS: ^DonAllai Shorts, a native Southern Californian, received his BA.in histoijfrom Cal State Los Angeles and then taught social studiesfor ten years at Santa Barbaras La Cuesta High School. He is cu7raitly C0'0zv7ier ofThe Old California Store in Ventura and saves on the San Buenaventura Heritage Association and the Histotic Presavation Committee of the city ofVentw'a. In 19S5, he served as guest curatorfor an exhibit on }4ontereyfuniiture at the Santa M.onica Heritage JHusaan and he most recently was guest curatorjor the Santa Barbara Histoiical Society exhibitio)i, Malibu, Macaws & Marlins; The Art of Tile—Southern California Style, Septanber i2~October zi, 1996. ^Joseph A. Taylor is the co'founder and cwrent president ofthe 7 ile Plaitage Foundation, anonpivjit educational organizatioix dedicated to research and preservation ofceramic swfaces in the United States. In addition to editing the Foundations publicatioxis, he fixquaitly lectures and writes on tile-related subjects. ^VAarjoxie Hayes acquired her interest ixiAdooiish axt and architecture duting herseveral years of residence in Turkey and TToivcco. In xgy8, she became a guide and docent at the Saxita Barbara County Courthouse. Today, she serves as curatorfor the courthouse and as archivistfor the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Docent Council. She has authored several magazine articles on local

history. ♦ After attending Bryn Adawr College, Jean Smith Qoodxich received her Ai.A. in history from California State College, Los Angeles. She has saved on the boards ofnumerous community organi' zations in the South Coast area,including service as board president ofthe Casa del Herrero Founda tion and the Santa Barbara Historical Society. She has previously xviittai about Casa del Herrero in the pages o/Nocicias. ♦ Tile rnuralist Judith Sutclijfe has designed numerous tile murals in the South Coast region for r-esidences, comrrxercial buildings, and public areas, igy8-igg6. She has lectured to and prepared tile studiesfor the docaii councib 0} Casa del Herrero and Lotusland. She most recently ivrote a guide book. to tile installations in Santa Barbara and Montecitofor the Tile Fleritage Foundation's 1996 symposium, held in Santa Barbara.

Our thank,s to Brother Joseph Schwab and Sister Connie TTadden for arranging entry into the friars’ lounge at the Santa Barbara Mission and to Qerald Flarter, president of the Casa Blanca Beach Estates Owners'Association,forgranting permission to photograph the interior ofthe natatoriTijn at the Casa Blanca complex at Sandyland.

Front cover photograph is a Sparxish tile mural ofSaint Barbara in theformer ivorfshop office of Qeorge Steedrnan at Casa del Herrero, photograph by William B. Dewey. Bacfcover image is a de tail ofa tile mural produced by Qladdirxg, McBean arxd Company at its Tropico Potteries in igiyfor the Santa Barbara Bilirnore I'lotel.

SE^!

Michael'Redmon, Editor Judy Sutcliffe, Designer © 1996 The Santa Barbara Historical Society 136 E. De la Guerra Street. Santa Barbara, California 93101 ● Telephone; 805/966-1601 Single copies $5.00 ISSN 0581-5916

In Search of the Lost California An Introduction to the Tiles of Southern California Don Allen Shorts

For Christmas of 1946, my parents

Later, after having been employed as a

gave me a new three-speed English touring

teacher for many years, married, and with

bicycle. They bought it at Bullock’s De

three sons, something unexpected hap

partment Store in downtown Los Angeles.

pened, I was browsing in an antiques store,

My new bicycle made me the envy of all

when I came across an old postcard of al

the neighborhood kids in South Pasadena,

most that same scene I experienced while

for no one had ever seen one like it. Just

bicycling so many years ago. Seeing chat

having a new bike was rare, because we

card produced a sudden burst of emotion,

kids had to ride old ones during the war

and tears came to my eyes. Such is the

years as bicycles were not then manufac

power of images stored in our minds that

tured. With my new bike and its three

can often come back unexpectedly, I. of

gears, I ventured forth in longer, ever long

course, had to buy the postcard and I have

er cycling expeditions that took me many miles from home.

On one of these long trips 1 ventured eastward. I cannot re member if 1 had any clear destination in

The California Building at the PanamaCalifornia Exposition in San Diego, 1915-

been buying images of that lost California

The exposition tnggeredtUgr^tl in populanty 0} the Spanish Lolonial PevivaL chitectural style, an important component of ivhich was tileiuork- Ahte the tiles on the

j . j l buy postcards, but cicrus labels, photo-

dome ofthe buMng, which were manxifactured by Lalijomia China Products Company. Collection ofthe Santa Barbara Histoncal Society.

^5^ paintings, and. . .1 t1 sometimes, tiles, I know my yearning for Cali¬

mind, but I remember

fornia’s idyllic past is

riding somewhere near

romantic, but it pro vides me with a com

Azusa. I

was going

pelling drive. -It had made me a conserva

down a straight road that had long, silent rows of huge dark-

tionist. preservationist,

!

writer, amateur pho

green orange trees on both sides and the

tographer, and a col lector.

scene stretched ahead as far as I could see.

On my left were the

I

towering San Gabriel Mountains, Further

favorite period is that between World War I and World War II.

was tall Mount Baldy. covered with snow.

Some call this period California’s Golden

There seemed, as I re member it. no other

As a collector, my

f

Age, a period when both the fine and dec orative arts recreated

traffic on the road, just me, the mountains,

a version of an idyllic

and the orange trees.

California that prob-

46

ably never exisced. These images are a mixture of dancing senoricas, guitarplaying vaqueros, dashing horses, comical donkeys, stately missions, and brightlycolored Spanish galleons, I continually ro manticize about a time that itself was a romanticisation of an earlier period. To me the 1920s and 1930s was a time when orange groves were an important part of the scene, where you could hardly travel to the beach, mountains, or deserts without passing through them and small towns were separated by them. It was a time when families took leisurely Sunday drives through the groves to visit Riverside, La guna Beach, or Mount Wilson, Although the Arts and Crafts move ment was all the rage in Southern Califor nia during the late 1890s and into the 1920s. new winds of change began to blow north from San Diego in 1915. The Panama-California Exposition started new di rections not only in architecture, but also in decorative arts. A typical Craftsman house was designed to fit into its natural surroundings. The exterior surfaces, often of wooden shingles, was stained dark brown or painted green. Inside, natural wood colors predominated; especially ad mired was dark oak. Colors were muted and meant to harmonize with the overall natural wood tones. The effect gave off warmth, a certain coziness.

The Spanish Revival architectural style, inspired by a variety of styles from Spain and Mexico called for different deco rative values. Now dramatic contrast was

NOTICIAS

colored tiles grew enormously during the 1920s. Tile manufacturing companies sprung up throughout Southern California to meet this demand. There was demand for decorative tiles over doorways, on floors, walls, stairways, and on fountains.

A new type of tile was needed.

The typical monochromatic tiles pro duced by Batchelder and others were now replaced with colorful Spanish-Moorishstyle tiles. These tiles emphasized contrast and offered new colors. A tile, six by six inches in size, might have five or six col ors; bright orange, shiny black, rich aquas, blues, dark greens. The use of orange was so common as to almost become an identi fying feature of these new Southern Cali fornia tiles.

The subject matter of pictorial tiles changed as well. Medieval, European, and northeastern United States themes disap peared. Castles were replaced by Califor nia missions, pines by palms, griffins by macaws. Demand for tile grew not only for residential architecture, but for com mercial and public buildings. Pottery and tile companies started up across the region —first in National City near San Diego, then in South Gate. Glendale, Santa Moni ca. Malibu, and on Catalina Island. At one time there were as many as thirty such companies in Southern California. Many remained small, like Malibu Potteries,

the goal. White replaced brown exteriors.

To contrast the white walls, houses often

Taylor Tilery, and Catalina Clay Prod ucts, while others, like Gladding, McBean and Company, grew quite large. By the mid-i930s. under the impact of the De pression, most pottery and tile companies were out of business.

had red tile roofs, black wrought-iron de tails. and brightly colored, patterned tiles.

Landscaping often featured tropical plants such as colorful jacarandas and bougainvil lea. At first, tiles were imported from Spain and Italy, but demand for multi¬

During the 1930s, architecture went through more changes. Southern Califor nia as well as the entire nation began to look closer to home for inspiration; vari ous colonial styles of the East Coast began to grow in popularity. Tlie restoration of

47

TILES OF THE SOUTH COAST colonial Williamsburg was a major influ ence. During the late 1930s. Duncan Phyffe-stylc mahogany was popular across the nation. These colonial styles were popular in Southern California, but so too were Monterey-style homes and California ranch houses. These homes of ten featured Monterey furniture, some times with tile inserts. Unlike many of the large Spanish Revival-style structures, these homes were often more modest in size. Tile themes also changed. Although Spanish styles were still popular, the influ ence of western movies and movies about Mexico created interest in new subject matter. Tiles showing wagon trains, cow boys, and Indians became common.

Although Spanish-Moorish tile was in troduced in San Diego, it was in Santa

Barbara chat its use reached it’s apogee, with stops along the way in towns such as San Clemente, Palos Verdes, Santa Moni ca, and Beverly Hills. In many ways my own life parallels this movement of Cali fornia tile art, for I also came to Santa Bar bara.

I attended the University of California, Santa Barbara College, during the last year on its Riviera campus in the hills just above the city. On clear winter mornings, I would pause to look at the city spread out before me, with its red tile roofs, the blue of the Pacific Ocean, and the Channel Islands, spectacular in the distance. I expe rienced the harmony that can exist be tween the enlightened efforts of man and the beauty of California’s landscapes. For me, it was paradise realized.

Employees hard at work,at Malibu Potteries, bulbing glazes onto the tiles, ca. igz8. Courtesy ofMalibu Lagoon Museu7n.

48

NOTICIAS

Dream, Nostalgia, and Myth A Theater of American Tiles in Santa Barbara Joseph A. Taylor Ceramic tiles have become integrated into the cultural fabric of Santa Barbara.

Both the brightly colored wall tiles and the rich earthen pavers have woven their way into the consciousness of the community.

Many local residents do more than simply notice these tiles; they tend to possess them, even those on public buildings, as if they were their own. The strength of this pride is compelling, lending itself to the continued proliferation of these various clay produces, but also urging a more thor ough investigation of the subject.

More so than in other Southern Califor nia cities, tiles are everywhere in Santa Barbara, used as frequently in public build ings as in private homes and as often out doors as in. Certainly part of this phenom enon can be attributed to the semi-tropical climate, conducive to the use of ceramic surfaces. But much of the extraordinary predominance of dec orative tiles is tied to the region itself, its architecture obvious ly, but also the way in which Santa Barbarans view them selves. their sublime and environment, their regional hcritage.

It is a fascinating coincidence that Charles Nordhoff.for mer resident of Santa Barbara and author of 1 the remarkably popu- ^ lar, California: A j Booh^ for Travellers I

and Settlers (1872), which expounded upon the natural wonders of the area, would fa ther the man who initiated the decorative tile industry in the state, the by-products of which, in turn, would enhance the in herent beauty of the region. In 1911, his son. Walter,^ teamed up with English tiIcwright, Fred Wilde,^ to establish Cali fornia China Products Company in Na tional City, the firm commissioned to produce the tiles for the California State Building in Balboa Park, San Diego, and that city’s new railroad depot as well.

Both buildings were erected for the Panama-California Exposition in 1915. The tiles themselves, heretofore unequalcd in sheer brilliance of color, boldness of design, and

Casa Dorinda, the Mcmtecito estate of?Ar. and Mrs. William Bliss, ipiz. Collectionofthe San ta Barbara Historical Society.

TILES OF THE SOUTH COAST

49 Dennison George from the San Jose area to handle both the interior and land scape design.^ When it came time to speci fy tile for the floor of the Long Hall and elsewhere in the house, Winslow may well have recom mended the expertise of Fred Wilde, who had left National

I t Designed by Frank Ingerson, these floor tiles for Casa Dorinda luere produced at Arequipa Pottery

by Fred Wilde. From a color photograph by Rpgcr

A.Smith.

quality of craftsmanship, were well inte grated into the fanciful architectural styles, especially in what became known as Spanish Colonial Revival. Tiles took on a life of their own, reminiscent of the exot ic cultures of Mexico, Moorish Spain.

North Africa, and the ancient Middle East, even though they were being manu factured locally. In combination with the red clay roof tiles and the stark whiteness of the exterior stucco finishes, their vi brancy titillated the imagination of the ar chitectural community and the population at large, setting the stage for what would become a virtual revolution in the decora tive ceramic arts throughout California.

Clearly inspired by these architectural achievements in San Diego. Mrs. William H. Bliss of New York hired architect Caricton Winslow, who had been in volved in the California State Building, to design an eighty-room mansion for herself and her husband in Montecito in 1917, soon to be named Casa Dorinda.^ Mrs. Bliss commissioned Frank Ingerson and

City and was work ing at a small pottery at the Arequipa Sanatorium in Manor (ad jacent to Fairfax), across the bay from San Francisco. Apparently, Mrs. Bliss had met Dr. Philip King Brown, who directed the sanatorium, on an Alaskan cruise in 1916 at which time she committed herself to buying all of the tile she would need from Arequipa. Frank Ingerson designed the floor tiles—brilliantly colored blue and green birds intertwined among lush green leaves and vines with bright orange ber ries—that were later produced by Wilde at Arequipa where the glazes were artfully applied by young women recovering from tuberculosis.'^ It should be noted that In gerson and Dennison would later be in volved in decorating and landscaping the luxurious Samarkand Hotel.

Other tile companies, many of whose products would be chosen later to adorn the buildings in Santa Barbara, would fol low the lead of California China Products Company and profit from the public's growing preoccupation with things Medi terranean. The American Encaustic Tiling Company, with major factories in Ohio and the East, purchased a West Coast con cern in Vernon as early as 1919.^ Gladding.

McBean and Company, the enterprising

50

NOTICIAS

A view ofthe west end ofthe natatorium at Casa Blanca, west ofCarpintcria, California. Note hoiv the tile runs the length ofthepooL Photograph by William B.Dewey.

sewer pipe and terra cotta manufacturer northeast of Sacramento, undertook the

tural community and producing some of the most beautiful tiles ever made in Amer

production of decorative tiles upon pur chasing Tropico Potteries in Glendale in 1923/ Malibu Potteries got underway in Malibu in 1926. managed by Rufus Keeler, who had been producing this type of tile for several years in South Gate at Califor

ica, albeit with a strikingly exotic flavor.

It is especially significant that in the mid-i920S Gladding, McBcan and Compa ny sent their architect, Jesse E. Stanton, to Europe feeling that his "usefulness” as head of their decorative tile department "would be greatly increased by intensive study of tile precedent in the old world centers of the art."^ His "artistic pilgrim age” took him from "the Gates of Hercules

8

nia Clay Products Company (Calco).

These companies, competitors though they were, worked to capacity during much of the 1920s. catering to the architec¬

TILES OF THE SOUTH COAST

51

the Mexican aristocracy benevolently ruled and developed the area in the image of their European homeland. Of course, these images had little to do with reality, either past or present, in California or in Spain. This illusion, however, had a great deal of appeal as people were comforted by this pervasive, albeit grandiose myth.

On December i6. 1927. when the Santa

Detail of tile mural at the east end of the Casa Blanca natatorium. The tile in the natatoriwn was produced at Qladding, ?AcBean and Company’s Tropico Potteries. Photograph by Wib liam B. Dewey.

to the Bosphorus, and from the Mediterra nean to the North Sea."^^ A most stun ning result of this overseas adventure can be found surrounding the swimming pool at the natatorium at Sandyland Beach.

Carpinteria, designed in 1927 for Albert Isham by noted architect George Washing ton Smith. "Here decorative tile actually dominates a beautiful structure. . . . The decorative motive . . . is sixteenth-century Persian, the inspiration from the artists of Ispaphan [sic].”^^ Interestingly, a letter ex ists written by Smith to J. E. Stanton at Gladding, McBcan. in which the architect claims that he was not responsible for the selection of these tiles. In any event, the tilework is American-made, produced at Tropico Potteries in Glendale, not in Tuni sia as is so frequently reported in the local press.

Many individual decorative tiles and murals from this period portrayed the idealized imagery of a "golden age" in Cal ifornia history when the Spanish and later

Barbara Biltmore opened its doors to the public, there is no doubt that the distin guished guests were cognizant of the rich, softly textured pavers beneath their feet, the brightly patterned ceramic wainscot ing along the hallways, the hand-painted gems embellishing the stair risers, and the various ceramic wall murals depicting an Arcadian lifestyle, in which Man and Na ture live in perfect harmony. All were part of the plan by architect Reginald Johnson in creating this archetypal Spanish Coloni al Revival structure, blending architectural details—archways, towers, balconies, log gias. fountains, tiles—to create a Mediter ranean ambiance. Even today, the floor tiles are referred to as ladriltos, the wall tiles as "hand-crafted . . . from Mexico.■’13 The Biltmore's tilework, however, was produced in Glendale at Tropico Potteries.

Although much of the glaze painting was probably done by hand, the tiles them selves were pressed from machines to look as if they were handcrafted.

Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, inspired by the extravagances of the Panama-California Exposition, is grounded in the same myth. Supposedly derived from the Andalusian farm houses of southern Spain, the style, in fact, bears little resem blance. As the late architectural historian, David Gcbhard, relates. "Unquestionably, one of the unique qualities of this regional architecture is that it had little, if any. real roots in the historic past of the area, [Ic ”15 was] a myth created by newcomers.

52

NOTICIAS

and in fact were in storage there when the Franciscans purchased the property in 1942. In subse quent years, the tiles were in

€

stalled at Mission San Miguel and at St, Francis Retreat. San Juan Bautista, as well as Mission Santa Barbara.

Throughout recent history, ce ramic surfaces have assumed a major role in creating the theater that is Santa Barbara. Juxtapos ing the starkness of the white stucco finishes, the red tile roofs,

Gebhard goes on to explain that during the 1920s and 1930s. there was what he called a stage-set atmosphere” prevalent in Cali fornia when both dream and nostalgia per 16 meated the architectural styles.

The brightly colored, often geometrical ly designed tiles, first introduced by Cali fornia China Products Company, became an integral part of this theater. From the county courthouse to Cabrillo Boulevard, walking around or driving through Santa Barbara and its environs can be a delightful experience as stair risers are frequently decorated and door surrounds are often accented by ceramic tiles. When decorative tiles are used as inserts among terra cotta pavers, the overall feel is of a floral ground cover, the earth with bits of color showino o through. In combination with the tiled ris ers, there is a definitive sense of warmth and welcome resulting from the tiles' pres ence. Superb examples can be found at Old Mission Santa Barbara, where colorful dccoratives arc inserted in the tile floors in both the friars’ lounge and the dining hall.

These tiles, along with those on the mag nificent fireplace In the lounge, on a garden fountain, and on four sets of exterior stairs, were produced at Malibu Potteries between 1926 and 1932. They were intend ed for installation at the Rindge family mansion atop Laudamus Hill in Malibu,

and rustic clay pavers provide the scenic atmosphere, "the stage-set,” while the decorative tiles with their strikingly beau tiful colors and intriguing designs provide the "stars.” Together they enhance the vi sion of the Arcadian myth, reflecting im ages of a paradise in which we would all like to believe.

ABOVE: The Santa Barbara Biltmore is graced icith a large amount of tileivorh, ineluding this mural produced at Twpico Pottaies. Photograph Joseph A.Taylor.

BELOW: Wlalibu Potteries manufactured this charmmg decorative insetfor the fireplace in the fiars’ lounge at the Santa Barbara T^ission. Photograph by William B. Dewey.

53

TILES OF THE SOUTH COAST e NOTES 1. For <inc of the more fascinating references to Waiter Nordhoff and his tile-making enterprise, sec "The Journey of the Fiame." in Lawrence Clark Pow ell’s California Classics(Santa Barbara: Capra Press, 1971). Thanks to Don Shorts for bringing this book to my attention.

2. For the story of this remarkable tile maker, see Lynn Downey,"Fred H. Wilde; His Life and Work," Parts 1-lV, Flash Point l-2(Healdsburg, Cali fornia: Tile Heritage Foundation, 1988-89); and "More Wilde News from National City," Flash Point 2(April'Junc 1989); 5.

3. For a thorough history of Casa Dorinda, see James Frush,"Casa Dorinda: Historical Background and Cultural Heritage"(Montecito: Casa Dorinda.

1973).

4. For information on Frank Ingcr.son and George Dennison, see Kenneth R. Trapp, et. al.. TheArtsand Crafts Adovanentin Calilomia:Lmng the QoodLife (New York: Abbeville Press, 1993) which includes an essay by Joseph A. Taylor, "Creating Beauty from the Earth: The Tiles of California." Also, see Lisa Taft, unpublished manuscript on "Cathedral Oaks" (1994)in the Tile Heritage Foundation library, Healdsburg, California.

5. The information on the tiles at CasaDorinda is verified in the "Sixth Annua! Report." Arequipa San atorium, September 1917: 19. 1 am indebted to Roger Smith, Casa Dorinda lOR. for sharing information from a scries of letters between Dr. Philip King Brown and Mrs. Bliss concerning the tiles and for in terviewing Mrs. Maria Churchill, director of the Montecito History Committee, who had heard about a meeting between Brown and Bliss on an Alaskan cruise where she committed herself to purchasing tiles from Arequipa Pottery. A letter dated June 8, 1916. written by Dr. Brown to Phtxbe Appleton Hearst, in dicates Brown's intention to take an Alaskan cruise later that year. Tliis letter is at the Bancroft Library.

University of California at Berkeley. 1 thank Lynn Downey for bringing it to my attention. For addition al information on Arequipa, sec Lynn Downey,"Phil ip King Brown and Arequipa Sanatorium." ThePadficHistorian 29-1 (Spring 1985): 47-55; "Arequipa Pottery." Ceramics AfontW)’(March 1985); 32-35; "The Tile Art of Arequipa." unpublished manuscript (1994)in the Tile Heritage Foundation library, Healdsburg. California.

6. Sec "Vernon Becoming Unique Clay Products Center." Soiithtccst Builder and Concractor(November 30.1917); 9. A special thanks to Norman Karlson for supplying this reference. For a comprehensive his tory of American Encaustic Tiling Company, see Mi chael Sims,"The Tiles of Zanesville, Ohio," Flash Point 6(July-Septcmber 1993): 17-23.

7. For a thorough history of this great company, see Gary F. Kurutz, Architectural Terra Cotta of Qladding,McBean (Sausalito, California: Windgatc

Press, 1989).

8. For a colorful and detailed account, sec Ronald L. Rindgc, et. al.. Ceramic Art oftheiMalitni Potteries igz6-ig^i(Malibu; The Malibu Lagocin Museum, 1988). Also sec Brian L. Kaiser, "Rufus Keeler: Ever lasting Tile for an Everlasting Legacy," Flash Point 5 (luIy-Scptcmbcr 1992): 3-5, 18; and an earlier article

by Joseph A. Taylor. "Rufus B. Keeler: A Tile Wiz ard," Fks/i Point 20anuary-March 1989); 1, 8, 9. 12.

9. Atholl McBcan,"Foreword." ByAiiddkSeas.

by J. E. Stanton(San Francisco: Gladding, McBcan & Co., 1927): V. 10. "Decorative Tile.- A Renaissance." Shapesof Clay 3-2(San Francisco: Gladding. McBcan & Co..

Feb. 1927): 3.

11. Shapes ofClay 5-2(San Francisco: Gladding.

McBcan SiCo., Nov. 1928): np.

12. Typescript, October 11. 1928, Architectural Drawing Collection. University Art Museum, Uni versity of California at Santa Barbara. From footnote 7 of "Architectural Documentation Report on Casa Blanca. Sandyland, California." by David Bricker, San Francisco, September 15,1989.

13. Jerry Camarillo Dunn, TheBilimoreSanta Bar bara:A History(Santa Barbara: Santa Barbara Bilemore Associates, 1990): 25. 26.

14. The tiles at the Biltmorc are featured in a prod uct catalog entitled "Tile: Tropico Faience Decora tive Fl(H)r"(San Francisco; Gladding. McBcan & Co..

1927).

15. David Gebhard,"The Spanish Colonial Revi val in Southern California (1895-1930)." Journalo/t/ie Society ofArchitectural Historians. XXVI(May 1967): 131. i6. Ibid.. 137.

The floor tiles in the friars'loungefeaturing heraldic motifs are also products ofMalibu Potteries. Photo graph by William B. Dacey.

54

NOTICIAS

The Tiles of the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Marjorie Hayes

The look, the feel of cilc. colorful co the eye and smooch and cool co che couch, seems co evoke feelings of faraway places and exocic climes—Norch Africa, che Mid dle Ease, and Spain. This is true of che Santa Barbara County Courthouse, where tiles are che first of many features of this Spanish-Moorish building co surprise firsttime visitors and co please those already familiar with this romantic structure.

After che earthquake of 1925 caused the razing of the 1875 classical domed court house. che county commissioned the Wil liam Mooser Company of San Francisco to create a Spanish-Mediterranean building on che same site, che block bounded by

Anacapa, Anapamu. Santa Barbara, and Figueroa streets. William Mooser III had lived many years in France and Spain and had an intimate knowledge of Spanish ar chitecture. He knew well the value of us ing cilc co create an ambiance of Andalu sian Spain, and he specified exactly where each type of cilc should be placed through 1 out the building.

Once through che Anacapa Street en trance. one is struck by the brilliant tiles lining che walls and stairway. The profu sion of color and the differing motifs is al most garish in effect except co one familiar with Moorish decor. Each cilc is handmade and so each is slightly different from che

Chemla tilesfrorn Tunisia line the ivalLs in the second jloor lobby above the Anacapa Street entrance in the Santa Barbara County Counhouse. Photograph by Marjorie Hayes.

7SS7

>

pH

TILES OF THE SOUTH COAST ocher. Present on most of che tiles, es

55 ''V>T{

pecially apparent on chose of solid col or, are three small blemishes, caused by little balls of clay which were used to separate che tiles during firing.

These maiolica tiles, in various shades of blue, green, deep brown, and golden yellow, were made in Tunis by Les Fils de J. Chemla. In the i88os, Ja cob Chemla, then producing strictly utilitarian pottery, was enlisted by the architect engaged in restoring che Pa lais du Bardo in Tunis, to try to repro duce che beautiful tiles which once dec orated che walls. From chat time on.

Chemla devoted his life and factory to reviving che ancient arc of the Persians.

His grandson. Andre Chemla. produces many of the old patterns at his factory in Paris. He explains that the clay was collected from nearby Soukra, chat che old kilns were traditional ovens with a direct flame, che heat being furnished by slow-burning olive wood. Every thing was done by hand; che process was difficult and very slow.^ The Moorish influence is apparent in tile designs throughout che courthouse.

Among these is a mosque design on che stairway leading from the Anacapa Street lobby and three different vase and flower murals in che second-floor lobby and the stairway leading to che third floor. Al though several tiles are decorated with birds, most have geometrical or floral de signs. There are sections with a golden yel low undulating pattern which creates an interesting border. Though blues, greens, and yellow predominate, there are also areas of white and brownish-black squares.

According to Mooscr’s specifications, che Chemla tiles were ordered through the distributor. Robert Rossman Company of New York, for which the E, L. Bradley Company in San Francisco was che West

A close look,at the stairway leadingfrom the Ana capa Street lobby to the secondfloor reveals the ex quisite detail oj the Chonla tilework.. Photograph

by Marjorie Hayes.

Coast representative. The timing of the order was fortunate, for che stock market crash of 1929 would cause Chemla to lose its U.S. distributors.

Mooscr called for additional decorative tile made by Sevilla’s Jose Laficce and Jose Manasque y Vera, also carried by Ross man, for the first- and second-floor lob bies. Mooscr’s wishes were not always car ried out; there arc a number of areas which he specified to be tiled which arc bare. The tiled wainscoting was to be of Lafitte or Manasque manufacture, but it has been identified as Chemla tile,^ The floors of both first- and second-

56

NOTICIAS

floor lobbies are embellished with attrac tive small white inserts on the floor with heraldic

figures—castles, lions, ravens,

shields, and ships. These were produced by the cuerda seca or dry line method. The pattern is drawn in black on a bisque terra cotta tile and the areas between the lines filled in by hand with glazes. Unfortunate ly. many of these are so badly worn the artwork is no longer visible. Other inserts in the lobbies are quartered pieces of Chemla tile.

On three of the buttresses on the stairs is a lovely large tile showing a seated woman in flowing blue and yellow gar ments billowing in the breeze. Around the two buttresses on the first floor and also surrounding the mosque mural in the Anacapa Street lobby are bullnose border tiles displaying a markedly different style—a floral pattern with a less distinct, "washed” look.

The floor tiles have a mellow beauty all their own. These tiles, with names like Fallston, Palacio. and Promenade, were produced by Gladding. McBean and Com pany at its Tropico plant. Gladding.

McBean was founded in 1875 at Lincoln, near Sacramento, California, for the pur pose of manufacturing sewer pipe from the abundant clay deposits in the vicinity.

Soon the company was producing archi tectural terra cotta. In the 1920s. the com pany expanded by buying out a number of other factories, one of which was a competing factory in Glendale. California, named Tropico Potteries. Within a year, Tropico was turning out ceramic tile in volume, so that by the end of the decade, Gladding, McBean had become one of the largest and most prestigious tile manufac turers in the country, known for its diverse products, including beautifully crafted ce ramic tile murals.

On the lobby floors and the stair treads

Thisfloormural in the county courthouse is a stunning example ofthe ivork done at the Tropico Potteries of Cjladding, TAcBean and Company.From a color photograph by

BilLZeldis. throughout the courthouse are the Fallston tiles—mixed browns and tans with a peach tint, all flecked with deeper hues.

The tiles are laid in different patterns and are very much reminiscent of the Alham bra in Spain.

In the second-floor meeting room of the County Board of Supervisors, popu larly known as the Mural Room, the flooring is Promenade inset with recessed tile. These recessed tiles are filled with bright blue, yellow, and white. Unfortu nately, the buildup of puddled wax in the indentations over the years has seriously dulled the colors.

The first and second corridor floors are appealing in the rich glow of Gladding.

McBcan’s Palacio tile, set in nearly even rows. The slight irregularity of the rows

TILES OF THE SOUTH COAST

57

of supervisors and also a representation of the legend of Saint Barbara.

Especially attractive are the risers of Chcmla tile on the stairway in the secondfloor lobby and the Tropico tile risers on the romantic circular stairway in the round tower at the center of the building.

The former features six different rows of

●'ft-.

brilliantly colored patterns; the latter shows three different motifs in more sub dued hues. Just as beautiful, but seldom no ticed, due to their location, arc the tiles surrounding the great doorway on the sec ond-floor terrace across from the law li brary, both inside and out, as well as the bench on the terrace. These, coo. arc Trop ico products.

There arc several handsome tile murals, unsigned, and, except for one. they have not been identified as to maker. The ex

may be the result of less chan careful tile setting. The basic tile is a large, chick, eight by eight inches, intersected with grouting which forms a variety of geomet ric shapes. Some of the Palacio tiles are in set with Tropico decorative tiles. The de signs of these insets differ one floor from the ocher, but the colors arc generally the same pale yellow with shades of blue.

On the floor of the exit near the corner of Anacapa and Figueroa streets is a very large and quite stunning design in the shape of an eight-pointed Moorish scar, produced by Tropico Potteries. Within a deep blue border is another border filled with the "pine and palm” motif so popular in Moorish Spain. In the center is a castle tower copped by a chalice from which ra diate what appears to be sun rays or bolts of lightning. Ac the base of the cower is a pale blue area suggesting water, with leap ing fish or dolphins. The tower is a dra matic rendering of the old seal of the board

ception is a magnificent specimen of the artistic talent of Judith Sutcliffe. This mu ral is on the front wall of the Hall of Records, where it forms part of a trio of plaques commemorating royal visits to Santa Barbara. Sutcliffe created hers for the 1983 visit of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip of England; it features the royal coat of arms and a surround of gold en Tudor roses. Sutcliffe considers it her favorite project, chough admittedly one of the most difficult to complete.'^ Another of the trio commemorates the visit of the king and queen of Belgium in 1919. The third honors the visit of the fifteenth Count of Monterrey in 1914.

In the Anacapa Street archway are two murals which arc sophisticated examples of the cuerda seca method. One portrays the courthouse facade with overlaid script which lists the county supervisors of 1926, the daces of construction, and the archi tects. High on the wall opposite is a colorful scene depicting the discovery of San Francisco Bay by Jose Francisco Ortega.

58

The Ortega family donated this mural.

Placed very high on the wall of the sec ond-floor loggia, and so often missed, is another large mural. It shows a lovely, tranquil, tree-lined country road, also with

NOTICIAS

sign of Downey, California, while the one in back of the Figueroa Street entrance fountain is a Sutcliffe design. Both designs are based upon original tile.

In 1991. the lobby at the Santa Barbara Street entrance was altered to accommodate a wheel ■■

■

chair ramp. At this time very good copies of Palacio tile were installed. Called "Barcelona,” the tiles were made in Spain and fur nished by Dickinson Tile of Lompoc, California. Ju dith Sutcliffe designed the inserts, which are excellent

Detail ofstair risers made by Qladding, McBean and Company for the Santa Barbara County Courthouse. Photograph by Joseph A. Taylor.

script overlaid. It was given by the Ed wards family to honor two brothers, George and Charles Edwards, who were great community benefactors.

There is a modest plaque over the drink ing fountain in the first-floor lobby recog nizing the contribution made to the con struction of the courthouse by George A. Batchelder. The colors are fairly subdued, with a background of deep cream, reddish lettering, and a softly multi-colored border of classical figures entwined in a gracefully curling scroll. The script, in rather florid style, is difficult to read. Though county records do not list a maker, they do record the cost as all of seventy-five dollars.

Not all the tiles in the courthouse are original. Besides the Sutcliffe mural, there arc recent additions around the two drink ing fountains on the first floor. Installed in 1987, the fountain tile at the front entrance was created by Two Sisters Custom De-

copies of the originals. On the lobby floor is a star pat tern, designed by architect Jack Dewey and handpainted by Ann Sacks of Portland, Oregon.

A section of four rows of red Palacio tiles which ran across the Anacapa Street gallery was replaced in 1987, when crack ing and upheaval of the floor occurred.

The cause remains unknown. The decora tive Tropico tile inserts were salvaged and re-installcd. Local artist Viqui McCaslin skillfully copied the Palacio tiles at her Coyote Kilns.

The Santa Barbara County Courthouse is a treasure of the tile maker’s art, Tuni sian and Californian, brought together in a delightful harmony. It well deserves its reputation as one of the most beautiful public buildings in the country.

NOTES 1. Architect’s Specifications, "Stoneworks, Tiles, Cement Floors, etc., 1927,” Santa Barba ra County Records, Drawer 23.

2. Andre J.— J. Chemla, letter to author, 20 February 1988.

3. Ibid.

4. Judith Sutcliffe, conversation with au thor. February 1983.

59

TILES OF THE SOUTH COAST

Tile at the Casa del Herrero Jean Smith Goodrich

Casa del Herrero was builc becwcen

Thousands of a ntique tiles were used at the Casa in literally every room to enrich every sort of surface. These included twenty-six hundred geometric-patterned tiles from a sixteenth-century convent in Segovia. Ninety-seven Alcora tiles and an additional one hundred medium-sized tiles

1923 and 1925, at the height of the demand for Spanish Revival architecture. It is a su perb example of the marriage of tastes of the sophisticated, traveled owner, George Fox Steedman, and one of the most widely acclaimed masters of this architectural

from Cordoba, all dating from the eight eenth century, featured a variety of paint ed figures, while a fur ther one hundred fifty seventeenth-century tiles from Andalusia

style, George Washington Smith.

The unifying themes of Spanish Revival residences included the rich red tile of i roofs, the whitewashed expanses of the walls broken by the shadows of deeply ► recessed doors and windows,

the

iron

rf birds,

■

14

'<4

.-r.

decorated with fish, animals,

^3 human faces, and oth-

'f.

3r:

' er figures.

Steedman had inset into the floors of the

grilles of the latter. _ and the reds and browns of the tile entry and dining floors The interiors ^ wall, counter, a7id sink, in the room seven hundred 1 r , doumstairs powder rxxnn at Casa del Herrero were cool, vet formed r-r ● ● ● ● n» . l t ’ are Of i unisian origin. Fhotograph by Joseph three-inch square tiles dating from the reign a strong, dramatic setTaylor. ting for Spanish furni of Charles V {1516ture and works of art, Steedman had 1556) in a basket-weave pattern. Gracing both the rooms of the house and the "bought into" the concept of a Spanish home to the extent of taking a six-week buying trip to Spain in 1923, seeking an tiques and building elements such as doors, shutters, ironwork and. of special interest, quantities of tile similar to what he saw em bellishing so many palaces and churches.

His companion on the trip was his ad visor and purchasing agent, Arthur Byne, one of the foremost American experts on Spanish art and architecture. Crates of material were sent back to Santa Barbara to be incorporated into Smith’s architectu ral plans.

grounds were one hundred fifty pairs of tiles with castle and lion motifs (for Cas tile and Leon), twenty-three tile sets of griffins and eagles, and eighteen tiles fea turing a shield, eagle, and castle.^ One may still walk around the Casa and view how these tiles were used.

Such was the detailed planning of the house, it was rare to have to cut the old tiles except for edge pieces. tiles show distinctive pips where the tiles, piled on top for firing, had tiny bails of

Many of the in the glaze of each other clay to sepa-

60 rate them, which were then knocked off the surfaces before use. These tiles were made after the Moslems had been expelled from Spain after a period of rule of over seven hundred years(711-1492).^ Moslems did not permit living creatures, including humans, to be depicted in their art. Their tile, building on Egyptian, Byzantine, and Persian themes, often featured geomet ric patterns. Of special interest was the cir cle, symbol of eternal life and divine conti nuity, and the ziggurat, a stepped pyramid reaching out towards God. The Casa has any number of tiled borders using this lat ter design. Steedman referred to it as the "pine tree” and the design is indeed so styl ized, one could read it as either.

The Moslems in Spain bejeweled their gardens, mosques, palaces, public baths and fountains with tiles. Moorish themes continued to be used after the end of Mos lem rule with the addition of genre figures and depictions of everyday life in the home and in the fields. Tile continued to be made in traditional ways, using tin oxide to pro duce an opaque white tile upon which dec orations were hand-painted.

While travel in Spain inspired Steedman’s love of tile, he did not think highly of the tiles being produced in Spain in the years after World War I. George Wash ington Smith wrote to Steedman saying that he, too, thought current Spanish tile "too inferior artistically to recommend.”^ He suggested that Arthur Bync see what he could find in Tunis, for Smith had been using tile made there.^ Byne traveled to Tunis and found the tile concern of the Chemla family. He wrote Steedman chat these were "artistic potters basing their work on the oldest Arab and Persian specimens in the museum . . . the technique surpasses everything in Spain,” but they were without a struccu-

NOTICIAS ral idea in their heads,

The first order for

7670 tiles was placed in 1923 and arrived the following year. It took five more frus trating years to get enough tile to complete work in the house and gardens. Steedman was willing to wait as long as necessary, since he thought the tile "highly satisfacto ry,” but his patience was sorely tried.^ The Chemla factory used painstakingly slow methods. Tile was made by hand us ing the cuenca technique and the ciierda seca technique. In the former, a mold of plaster was made in which lines were etched. The clay was pressed into the mold, then removed for firing. The depres sions between the resulting ridges would then be filled with colored glazes and fired again. The cuerdaseca technique involved painting between lines of oil mixed with manganese. There are many examples of both techniques at CasaddHe.rre.ro.

Chemla filled Steedman’s last order in 1928. Included in this order were 1400

These nineteenth-century "AtZ(ivara "tilesfrom Catalan, Spam,form a channing border for this fireplace at the Casa. Photograph by Joseph A. Taylor.

61

TILES OF THE SOUTH COAST black glazed tiles to act as a dado on the sides of the garage and for its floor. Steedman had become dissatisfied with the brick floor of the garage, for motor oil was impossible to remove from the surface.^ Byne and Steedman were active part ners with the Chcmlas in choosing pat terns and designs. Steedman wrote, I hope my submitting 12 ideas for five tiles won’t upset the good Arab. He is at perfect liberty . . . to use them in any way he secs fit."^ He also wrote Chemla, "Your good taste in selection of tile is approved and it is my intention to give you merely a sketch of the wall or location for you to make your independent selection of tile as to size, color, and pattern.

Yet Steed man then wrote to Byne, "I am sending this material [sketches] to you rather than Chemla because you know the rascal and I don't want to do anything that might mix ”11

him up.

Although Steedman moved into his new home in 1925, as late as 1928 he wrote Chemla, "It is my intention to chip out the plaster now in place with an electric chip ping hammer and place the tile in the de pression so formed” and that more tile to replace the border might then be neces sary.^^ It is understandable how frustrat ing this all must have been, but the superb results were worth Steedman's patience and persistence.

Today, visitors are astonished at the abundance of tile, even in the most mun dane working areas. Invoices reveal one possible reason for this lavish use of tile; the cost of each imported tile in 1928, in cluding taxes and shipping came to just seventeen cents apiece. Byne even had to caution Steedman from overuse of tile, dis suading him from framing the finely carved antique doors in tile and thus de 13 tracting from their beauty.

The Chemla family worked to revive

the tile industry which had flourished in the late eighteenth century, but had be come moribund. They were so successful that by 1929 the firm had over one hun dred workmen and Jacob Chemla, the fam ily patriarch, received the Croix de la Legiond'Honneur horn the French govern ment in recognition of his efforts. In 1940. he wrote Steedman inquiring whether there might be a future for his firm if he moved it to California. Steedman consult ed Gladding. McBean and Company, which discouraged the idea, stating the fad 14 for Spanish-style tiles had run its course.

The Chemlas moved their factory outside of Paris in 1957 and are still doing business today.

The amount, use, and placement of qual ity antique and Chemla tile in the house and garden of Casa del Herrero, makes a visit there an incredible experience. This superb estate, preserved by George Steedman’s daughter. Medora Bass, and her son, George, and daughter. Medora, is a unique blend of art. antiques, and architecture in a setting punctuated by vibrant tilework made by master craftsmen.

NOTES

PC'

1. Inventory, 5June 1923, in the archives of Casa del Herrero.

2. Mclvecna McKendrick. The Horizon Concise History ofSpain(New York: American Heritage Publishing Co., 1972): 91.

3. Ibid.. 38.

4. Byne to Steedman. 2 December 1926.

This letter and other letters noted subsequently are in the archives of Casa del Herrero.

5. Smith to Steedman. September 1923.

6. Byne to Steedman, 4 January 1924.

7. Steedman to Chemla.9January 1927.

8. Steedman to Chemla. 2June 1928.

9. Steedman to Byne, 24 June 1928.

10. Steedman to Chemla. 13 March 1928.

11, Steedman to Byne, 2June 1928.

12. Steedman to Chemla. 2june 1928.

13. Byne to Steedman, 28 September 1928.

14. McBean to Steedman, 19 August 1940.

NOTICIAS

LEFT:This tilefowl tain in thegardai of Casa del Hcrrcro comesfrom Tunisia and datesfrom the late nineteenth or early twentieth century Photograph by Joseph A. Taylor.

RJQHT:The Aioonsh starshapedfountain at Locusland as it looked during the E. P. Qavit era. Collection ofthe Santa Barbara Historical Society.

LEFT:Among Madame Qanna Walska s large collection ofDutch tiles is this tile mural set in balcony wallofthe main house.

Photograph by Joseph A. Taylor.

63

TILES OF THE SOUTH COAST

The Tiles of Lotusland Judith Sutcliffe

The tiles of Lotusland reflect the cul

near chat fountain he believes is Mexican,

tured. mildly bizarre taste of the cosmo politan collector. Madame Ganna Walska, who placed them, vibrantly visible, around her grand estate, an intriguing overlay to the Spanish ornamental tiles added earlier

from the end of the eighteenth century.

In 1925, the Gavit family commissioned George Washington Smith. Santa Barba ra's leading architect of romantic Spanish style, to design a suite of rooms for their daughter, connecting the main house to

to the scene by architect George Washing ton Smith and landscape designer Paul

Thiene.

The original house, designed by Regi nald Johnson and completed in 1921 for the Erasmus Palmer Gavit family, used very little tile initially. The main external orna ment of the Mediterranean-style home was an ornate cast stone entryway at the front.

After the house was finished, the family commissioned Paul Thiene. specialist in Spanish and Italian gardens, to design for mal gardens to the east of the house. The main axis featured a tiled, Moorish, star shaped fountain placed midway on a pat terned brick walkway, with a long, nar row, tiled runnel carrying a trickle of wa ter to a blue and white shallow bowl at the east end. A secondary, parallel axis also emphasized a tile fountain centered within its hedged pathway (a Neptune sculpture was added later to this fountain). Both par terre gardens have been renovated in the past year or two, with total reconstruction of the badly deteriorated star fountain, runnel, and bowl. A tile bench built into a garden wall near the house features nine teenth-century Dutch tiles, "probably Har lingen or Utrecht.” according to British tile collector and historian. Chris Blanchett.^ He identifies the Neptune fountain tiles as mostly Spanish plus a few Mexican, eight eenth and nineteenth centuries. A bench

her pavilion with a high wall fronting the courtyard and adjoining patio.

The new pavilion and patio added a de lightful Spanish-Moorish flavor to the more restrained, Italianate house. It spar kled with motley-colored tile, and still does, with almost all original tile still in tact. Spanish tiles ring each column capital in the low arcade, and each column's bor der is a different pattern. These arc tradi tional polychrome maiolica tiles, similar to the stairwell tiles in the Santa Barbara County Courthouse (produced in Tunisia

by Les Fils de J. Chemla). Blanchett thinks them to be nineteenth-century Spanish.

More such tiles line a Moorish star fountain in the patio, with a tile-paved riv ulet to a decorative tile outflow. An octag onal planter is also lined with tiles. Blanchetc identifies all of these as nineteenthcentury Spanish. Tlie patio fountains and planter were renovated in 1995. and mason Pat Scott was able to save and reuse most of the original tile.

There are small tile inserts among the terra cotta pavers under the arcade roof, many representing the heraldry of Spanish cities: lion for Leon, castle for Castile.

Blanchett terms them "olambrillas," made in Spain, end of the nineteenth century or later. These tiles are decorated by three different methods: maiolica (painting with mineral oxides over tin-glazed carthen-

NOTICIAS

64

ware), cuerda seed ("dry line” separating different colored glazes), and cucnca(raised lines creating "little tubs" to hold the dif ferent colored glazes). These small tiles are similar to ones in patio paving at Casa del Herrero.

A wainscot border of triangular tiles was also added, plus a small tile mural (Spanish, end of the nineteenth century) under the arcade. A wall fountain with cherubs on the main house wall was also designed by George Washington Smith.

Smith created a bathhouse near the swimming pool (now a lotus pool) with large tiles embedded in the stucco on either side of the facade, a 16" x 16" rabbit tile on the left, and an ornamental 12" x 12" de sign on the right, the latter imperfect as the glaze "crawled" or peeled back in plac es during firing. Smith also added two large tile benches near the diving platform, both with an all-over pattern of white and blue maiolica flowers, with a touch of yel low, These are, according to Blanchett. probably from Triana. Sevilla, and made in the early twentieth century. Jose Luis Porcar of the Instituto de Promocidn Cerdmica in Spain thinks they are possibly Tunisian, demonstrating that even experts do not agree on the heritage of unsigned tiles without birth certificates.

A handsome stage was set for the entry of Madame Ganna Walska from France in 1941. She liked the more Spanish aspects of the buildings and worked to make them more Spanish and less Italianate, removing the ornate, cast stone bas-relief above the front door, as it did not fit her ideas of what the house should be. She arrived with

These tiles at Lotusland are interesting exam ples of the cuerda scca technique. The origin of the tiles is unkjioivn. Photograph by Joseph A.

Taylor. primary collections of tile on the exterior of the main house and pavilion, around patios facing the parterre gardens and lawns, and on the fountain and walls of the front courtyard, with less attention to interior use of tile.

She added a modest amount of tile to the George Washington Smith pavilion patio. The most noticeable is a baseboard border of vertical 5" x 10" cuerda seca tiles, all alike in design and color, but ex ceedingly varied in the success of their ex ecution. Most are either badly painted or badly fired, with rarely an entirely perfect specimen to be found. This is quite in Smith’s tradition, however, as he appar ently found the mis-glazcd large tile on the right side of the bathhouse front simi larly intriguing. Blanchett identifies the patio border as "cuerda seca. Sevilla, late nineteenth century," Porcar states they are cuerdaseca. but not Spanish.

A wall mural on the west end of the ar

a major collection of Dutch and Spanish tiles, most of which she incorporated into the look of Lotusland.

cade dates from the George Washington Smith era (Sevilla, nineteenth century, ac cording to Blanchett and "not Spanish" according to Porcar). A single tile on the east end of the south side is not in Gavit-

Her preoccupation, however, was na ture. her magnificent and diverse gardens.

Appropriately, for her, she displayed her

era photographs and was probably added

by Madame Walska.

She also inset in a balcony wall on the

TILES OF THE SOUTH COAST main house, above the patio, a handsome, maiolica tile mural of a domestic, perhaps biblical, scene done in purple cones of man ganese over a white background. It is of Dutch origin, and Blanchect attributes it possibly CO Jan van Alamis workshops.

C1780-1800.(See photo, page 62, bottom.)

The tiles chat capture the interest of most visitors to Lotusland are the so-called Goya, or Qayescos, tiles. Caricature faces and dwarf-like forms on polychrome maiolica tiles smile and leer at passersby.

They arc similar in spirit to the stocky, sculptured stone personalities who people the cheater garden. A parade of tile folk portraits of Spain, from the earthy to the elegant—musicians, soldiers, fine ladies and gentlemen, dancers, matadors, men on stiles—line the base of the house around the living and dining room patios and also along the east and north sides of the pavil ion. Some arc attributed by Blanchect to artisans of Alcora or Sevilla. Spain, at the end of the nineteenth century.

Madame Ganna Walska negotiated purchase of these tiles during the 1930s when she lived in France. They were ac quired primarily through Francisca Reyes, Importer of Spanish Antiques, 56 West 57th Street. New York City. An early let ter in the Lofiis/and archives from Reyes is addressed to Madame Ganna Walska McCormick; Last wecl{I received the photographs ofthe personages Qoyescos tilesfrom Spain, and...

1 have reserved them in Spain untilyou decide. ... There are more than 20 different designs in the lot and many ofthem illustrated in Qoya book^in the etching, "Los Caprichos.”

It is not clear just how close the connec tion is between these tiles and Francisco Jose de Goya Ludences (1746-1828), a Spanish painter and etcher whose art re flected the political and social turmoil of his time. His highly influential works in¬

65

clude portraits of Spanish nobility and The Third of May (1808) and Los Caprichos (1799). The latter is a series of satirical paintings and prints. Spanish scenes pre vail in the Lotusland coWeezion. but there is an odd group of Chinese figures in the same polychrome style.

Another letter, dated June 27, 1936, lists a number of items Francisca Reyes has for sale: Double Qoya tiles are sold at ^25.00 each, but you always pay $8.00. Same price to you.Siz^ 10 X10.Long tiles...small tiles... [and]Signed Qoya Panel showing bullfight in small village in Castilla. I sell itfor $1,000 but to you $^00.00. These are my very lowest prices and arefor you only.

The double tiles referred to are 5" x 10" each, with two tiles in horizontal position forming the painting. In addition to carica tures, there arc many countryside bullfight scenes done in this manner. Most arc em bedded in one small and three large plaster planters built for the patios by stonemason Oswald Da Ros’ crew in the 1960s. These total one hundred twenty-four bullfight scenes, each 10” x 10". Blanchect identifies them as Alcora or Sevilla, end of the nine teenth century, and Porcaro believes they arc copies of Triana. Sevilla, patterns, as the size and painting techniques arc rare in Spain. He does not think the double tile portraits/caricatures are Spanish.

Apparently there arc no signed Goya murals. Most tiles and murals not perma nently attached to the building were sold at auction after Madame Walska died.

During her lifetime, however, the patio walls near the living and dining rooms were hung with groupings of large and small bullfight murals, with espalicrcd bougainvillea forming borders around them.

Some Goya tiles may have been ac quired after Madame Walska moved to

NOTICIAS

66

Lotusland. A 1958 letter written by Ma dame Walska’s secretary to The 18th Cen tury Shop. 1024 Third Avenue, New York City, refers to Goya tiles that were ordered but not yet received.

While on the mysterious subject of Goya, there is a letter from Francisca Reyes referring to "A tiles Fontaine [sic]

by Goya $1300,” of which $800 was yet due. Whether this particular fountain came to Lotusland is not known. There is, however, a sumptuous maiolica fountain, damaged and in storage at Lotusland. that features polychrome bucolic scenes of vine yards. carriages, picnics, dancing couples, musicians, and more. It has hunter green edging trim and no signature.

TTiere is a smaller, scalloped, possibly Spanish, maiolica fountain located under a tree just outside the pavilion patio and still in operation, aided by two green ceramic frogs. Blanchett thinks the fountain looks "Californian."

In addition to the Qoyescos collection which she brought with her to Lotusland from France, Madame Walska acquired Dutch tiles. She purchased seventeenthand eighteenth-century Dutch tiles from several dealers, but most of the tiles for a courtyard fountain in front of the house appear to have come in the 1940s through Adolph Loeb van Maerssen of the Hol land-East Indies Curiosity Shop. Inc., 3 West 50th Street. New York City.

Madame Walska’s secretary's letters in 1943 make it clear that Madame Walska had a design worked out that involved three hundred fifty tiles grouped according to subject matter. She preferred larger de signs and rejected circles with tiny central figures as she wished a tapestry effect of strong blue color. It is not known whether the fountain was built by Madame Wals ka. It is quite possible that the fountain, possibly a horse trough originally, was

builc during the Gavit era, as the tiles on the low front section are Moorish stars, the same as are on the planter in the pavil ion patio.

Animal tiles dominate the backdrop of the fountain trough, with people on either end and trees near the stairs. These areas comprise three hundred eighteen tiles and apparently represent the design that Ma dame Walska so carefully thought out, There are another three hundred fiftythree tiles embedded in the courtyard wall to the right of the stairs. These are not so carefully grouped and appear to be a col lection of "rejects,” as they include many tiny figures in circles, and religious designs of which she indicated in letters she was not fond.

According to Blanchett. the tiles on the fountain and wall are primarily seven teenth-century Dutch tiles, which he spe cifically allocates to Frisian, Rotterdam, Delft. Harlingen, Haarlem, Amsterdam, and Utrecht production. There are also a considerable number of eighteenth-century Dutch tiles in the group and a very few English delft of London and Bristol deriva tion.

The hollow clay tile wall which sup ports the tile seeps ground water and per-

This detail of a fountain in front of the ^nain house shows Dutch tiles datingfixnn the seventeenth century which TAadayne purchased from a dealer in New York_ City in the ig^os. Photo graph by Joseph A.Taylor. wv

;^ ^k

‘A

■tJ **

f-

>● I

S^. I

67

TILES OF THE SOUTH COAST

haps was not the best place to put a collec tion of old Dutch tiles, but there they are, slowly peeling their glazes, A close look will reveal interesting and amusing detail.

On the left side of the fountain are two tiles of a beggar, side by side, the same de sign painted by two different artists.

These were truly handpainted, not silk screened or decaled as most decorative tile is today. There are Chinese images. Two children nose to nose with pigtails flying is delightful. There are images of a man throwing up, a woman brandishing a large knife at a man. a baker with cookies, a uni corn. tiny mice. Moses with cat whiskers, a cherub doing pushups.

There was still correspondence regard ing Dutch tiles in the 1960s. much from Helen Williams’ Rare Tiles. Antique Delft Tiles & Faience, 12643 Hortense Street, North Hollywood (now Studio City, ac cording to Williams), Williams offered Madame Walska many old tiles and mu rals. some of which she purchased. Wil liams said in a recent telephone conversa tion that she traveled to Lotiisland several

Walska in the 1960s. The "flaming torch’’ design uses seven or eight different colors of rounded pebbles. Da Ros’ workmen made the red and ivory pebbles by tum bling small pieces of marble.

The tradition of creative work contin ues with the new visitor center, completed in 1993 by the Lotusland Foundation. All of the tile in the visitor center is new, with the exception of three double Goya tile caricatures, handsomely incorporated by tilesetter Terry Brennan into tile surround ing a drinking fountain and by the rest room doors. They were part of Madame Walska’s collection.

The Lotus Fountain was designed and painted by Judith Sutcliffe. The lotus bowl in the fountain was handthrown by archi tect Bill LaVoie. The lotus marble mosaic at the end of the arbor walkway was made by contractor Frank Louda. The beautiful tile in the restrooms and on the wall at the south end of the walkway is modern com mercial Italian maiolica.

The gardens and tile of Lotusland en hance each other in Mediterranean tradi

times to discuss both the buying and sell ing of tiles. She said that Madame Walska had had a significant collection of Dutch tiles in France, especially framed pictures, and had brought them with her to Lotusland. She recalled the main house bath

tions begun in the 1920s and continuing onward today.

room as being hung with many small Dutch tiles and murals. The three large, old portrait murals in blue and white Dutch tiles in the living/dining room area may have been part of that collection, ac cording to Williams, as they were not pur chased through her.

Not tile, but within the realm of mosaic

I. Chns Blanches has one ofthe largest private collections oftiles in Britain, numbering some sev en thousand examplesfixnn all periods and places.

He has conoibuted h is knowledge oftile history to many books includingFiTcd Eardi, 1000 Years of Tiles in Europe. He is curraitly writing a book on tiventieth'Century tiles. Joseph A.Taylor,di~ rector ofthe Tile Hetitage Foundation in Healdsburg, California,sent a selection o/Lotusland tile slides to himfor identification.

2,Jose Luis Porcar,Inscicuco de Promocion Ceramica, Castellon, Spain,identified the same selectioji o/Locusland tile slides, disagreeing ivith Blanchett in a number ofinstances.

art, are the pebble pathways at the en trance to the parterre gardens. They were designed by Jim Minah and installed by Oswald Da Ros’ workmen for Ganna 1^

NOTES

\fSS^

TfIL 3aNTA DAR.bARA f1l3TOR.ICAL 3oCILTY WI3FIL3 TO ACKNOWLLD^L TflL ^OE.NE.ROU3 FINANCIAL 3urroRT OF ThL following: towards TFIL FUbLICATION OF TFII3 I33UL OF

N0TICIA3:

Allva

ERCE

3CMER

3.URICF1, Switzerland

(atfillln DrLW3TLR

Mlal and Annie Araffy Nancy Luton Jackuon

William and Maky Cowlll (^LORzriL AND CaTRLRINL FraICLA

Ruth M. o3lltte.r Fatricia K. 5tlvln3 Ann Archlr Wrilifit

SANTA BARBARA HISTORICAL SOCIETY BOARD OF TRUSTEES Richard Glenn Jo Beth Van Geldcrcn .

Lani Meanley Collins .

Ruth Scollin Warren Pullman Miller

Nancy Balch Victor H- Bartolomc Foster Campbell Marilyn B. Chandler Barbara Cleveland Alexandra Crissman

President . - First Vice President Second Vice President Secretary Treasurer

Dan Cross

Jane Mueller Joanna Newton Jack Overall John Pitman Barbara Robinson

George E. Frakes Neal Graffy Lawrence Hammett Robert G. Hansen John W. Hunt Thad MacMillan

Cicely Wheelon

George M. Anderjack. Executive Director

MAJOR CONTRIBUTORS-1996 COLLECTORS SERIES The Santa Barbara Historical Society wishes to thank and to acknowledge with pride the following members and institutions for their most generous contributions to the 1996 Collectors Series:

PATRONS ($1,000 and above) Molly Wrathcr Dolle Thomas and Eleanor Harriman Keith and Nancy Marston John and Kathleen Moseley Charles and Elizabeth Storkc

H. Travers and Joanna Newton Northern Trust Bank

Richard Hughes Derk and Frederika Hunter

Jack and Sheri Overall Frederica Poett

John and Josephine Hunter

Michael andJoAnn Rodrigue Edmund and Joyce Rogers, Jr Ruth B. Scollin Ivano Paolo Vit

Donald and Jo Beth Van Geldcren Albert and Cicely Wheelon

Lynn P. Kirst(Spectrum Tours) Francis and Patricia McComb Carrie Belle McFie Donn Miller William and Nancy Myers

Pilar Nyc BENEFACTORS

SPONSORS

($500 and above)

($250 and above)

Elsie Boeseke

Barbara H. Bakewell

Ernest and Gay Bryant III Robert and Marie Carty Mary Louise Case Zelva Pierce Fischer Gordon and Constance Fish

Bradley Bartholomay. Jr Ashlcigh and Dorothy Brilliant John and Patricia Broome Jon and Martha Bull Pierre P. Claeyssens Carnzu A. Clark

Richard and Kay Glenn Jean Smith Goodrich Barbara E. Jones Frances D. Larkin Jane Rich Mueller David F, Myrick

Edward and Nancy Cudahy Phoebe Bayly Dillon Dorothy E. Fulmor Richard and Katherine Godfrey Arthur L. Hoff

Jane Patterson Kenneth and Mary Louise Riley Sheldon and Dorothy Riley Barbara Parker Robinson Katie OReilly Rogers(Landscape Architect) E- Walton and Shirley Ross Santa Barbara Bank and Trust Joan Corbin Smith Vaughn and Nadine Smith Stuart S. Taylor Michael Towbes Shirley A. Wilson

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NOTICIAS Quarterly Magazine of the Santa Barbara Historical Society P.O. Box 578 Santa Barbara, California 93102-0578 Address Correction Requested Forwarding Postage Guaranteed

CONTENTS Pg.45: In Search of Lost California Pg. 48: Dream, Nostalgia & Myth Pg 54; Tiles of the SB Courthouse Pg- 59; Tiles at Casa del Herrero Pg. 63: The Tiles of Lotusiand