Whittier Art Gallery History Project

This project grew out of research for the Whittier Art Gallery’s historic designation and developed into an in-depth archival study of the gallery’s early history and cultural reach. What began as a local inquiry revealed strong connections to professional artists across Los Angeles and the Laguna Beach art colony during the postwar years.

Since 2014, I have worked with Vicki Schramm to examine and digitize thousands of newspaper articles and archival documents from the Whittier Museum and the gallery’s own archives. My work focused on photographing, organizing, and building a searchable digital database from original newspapers, microfilm, and fragile materials.

The discovery of personal writings by co-founder Mabel George Haig—an artist and writer—provided critical behind-the-scenes insight that helped unify the research. This section presents selected materials that reflect my archival process and approach to preserving California art history.

For more details: whittierartgalleryhistory.com