The Picture Bridge
Pasadena, CA: The Huntington, 1933. First Edition. INSCRIBED "Mrs(?) Mary Louisa Storts(?), Many regards, from Frank M. Moore. Sept 2nd, 1940 Tahoe Tavern Lake Tahoe, Calif." Oblong 8vo (16 x 27cm). [6], 41 pp. Illustrations, some in color; full page map of California. Paintings by Frank M. Moore; word pictures by Don Blanding. Green wrappers with pictorial design and color plate affixed to front cover. Covers separated along spine; general wear; dampstain along edge of title page; else a very good copy. Item #22517
The historic gable-roofed Picture Bridge at the Langham Pasadena that crosses a ravine at the rear of the hotel. The bridge was opened in 1933 displaying 41 original oil paintings of California scenes by Frank M. Moore. Above both sides of each gable and over the door into the hotel, the subjects include: Famous Mountains, the Ocean, Harbors, Missions, the Big Trees and more. Suffering the exposure to weather over time, the paintings were removed and remain in storage for protection, being replaced with facsimiles.
Frank Montague Moore (1877–1967) was an English-born painter, businessperson, and museum director. He was the first director of the Honolulu Museum of Art. During the Great Depression, the then-Huntington Hotel’s manager Steven Royce commissioned Moore to paint the oil paintings. “Mr. Moore received $10 for each of the 41 paintings and all the food he and his wife could eat, a valuable benefit during the Great Depression"
Price: $200.00