| Otis Oldfield California WPA Print Commissions by Ellen Sragow Journal of the Print World Page 24 - Fall 1995 Bay area artist Otis Oldfield (1890-1969) was commissioned in 1936 by the San Francisco W.P.A. to do two series of lithographs. One, a series of fifteen images documenting the construction of the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Bridge (Building the Bay Bridge Series) and the other, a series of four images of North Beach (North Beach Series). They were printed by Ray Bertrand at the California School of Fine Arts Lithographic Facility, where the Federal Arts Project Graphics Division was located. In quotes from his diary of 1936, Oldfield wrote: "Feb. 24, 1936: Start pay today at F.A.P. #2138-1 to do views of Bridge lithos - 16, Facility at Turk and Webster to pick up pay at 2 p.m. monthly, equipment lockers (3) contain materials and worksheets." "June 30: Letter informs there are no more funds to pay W.P.A, but have completed 2 more lithos on transfer paper for Stone at Art School." "July 23: Pay only $33.00. This morning signed 24 proofs." "Sept. 9: Sketched at bridge all day." "Nov 20: Payday $47.00." "Dec. 21: Last payday at W.P.A. Was let out on Dec. 15th." The unit was headed by Ray Bertrand and Art Painter who also taught lithography at the California School of Fine Arts. It had one press and five stones. The printers had very tight printing schedules and had to pull prints for many artists. Often they only pulled a few proofs for each artist due to time limitations and editions often were not completed. There were times when they ran out of the W.P.A. paper stock and had to borrow paper from the art students in the school. The completed series was first exhibited at the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum in 1936. It travelled around the country for two years to various non profit institutions such as schools, libraries, museums, local, state and federal buildings, including the Library of Congress. In 1937, a portfolio of twenty W.P.A. lithographs was presented to President Roosevelt in Seattle. Six of these were from the Bay Bridge series by Oldfield. Most of the images from the Bay Bridge series focus on the bridge construction, some emphasizing architectual aspects, others structural. The use of figures is minimal. The lithographs are very finely drawn with sharp contrasts in black and white. Oldfield depicted the drama and massiveness of an architectural wonder. He placed the viewer among steel girders, at the foot of a concrete anchorage, under an arch, or at a pier looking at the bridge from a distance. He took us through the transition of construction, whereas Louis Lozowick and Howard Cook depicted the finished monuments in their many prints. They all paid tribute to those great spans of steel which have become such American icons. Otis Oldfield's involvement with the government sponsored projects began in 1933 when he signed up for the W.P.A. at the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum by submitting mural sketches for the Coit Tower. In 1934 he started working on the mural in the vestibule of the tower, a harbor scene depicting shipping in San Francisco. There were no bridges on the bay at that time, but one can see in the painting "Yerba Buena Islane" which would later be a site for the central anchor of the Bay Bridge. He also painted several works for over the doors in the elevator lobby which included a stylized map of the San Francisco Bay area, used as the background for the elevator floor indicator. His work is represented in major collections including the San Francisco Art Institute, M. H. de Young Memorial Museum, Oakland Museum, Brooklyn Museum, NMMA, Library of Congress, Collection of Reba and Dave Williams, and the Achenbach Foundation. A complete set of the lithographs is on permanent loan to the Oakland Museum from the M. H. de Young Museum. |