Regional Oral History Office University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California San Francisco Artists Series Ruth Cravath Dorothy Wagner Puccinelli Cravath TWO SAN FRANCISCO ARTISTS AND THEIR CONTEMPORARIES, 1920-1975 With an Introduction by John S. Bolles An Interview Conducted by Ruth Teiser Catherine Harroun Copy No. @ 1977 by The Regents of the University of California All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement between the Regents of the University of California and Ruth Cravath dated March 9, 1977. The manuscript is thereby made available for research purposes. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to The Bancroft Library of the University of California Berkeley. No part of the manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permission of the Director of The Bancroft Library of the University of California at Berkeley. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to the Regional Oral History Office, 486 Library, and should include identification of the specific passages to be quoted, anticipated use of the passages, and identification of the user. The legal agreement with Ruth Cravath requires that she be notified of the request and allowed thirty days in which to respond. TABLE OF CONTENTS -- Ruth Cravath INTRODUCTION by John S. Bolles INTERVIEW HISTORY INTERVIEW 1, January 21, 1975 Early Life The Art Institute of Chicago Grinnell College and Berkeley The California School of Fine Arts The Berkeley Fire of 1923 Ralph Stackpole Patrons of the Arts Beginning a Career Fellow Artists INTERVIEW 2, January 31, 1975 First Studio: Montgomery Block Life Drawing and Models The Oldf ield Wedding and the Modern Gallery Pierce Street Studio Teaching The Decorative Arts Show and Other Exhibitions The San Francisco Stock Exchange The Society of Women Artists The 1920s: Other Matters INTERVIEW 3, February 6, 1975 The 1930s Albert Bender The San Francisco Museum of Art Group Shows and Galleries The Coit Tower Murals Other Murals of the 1930s The San Francisco Art Commission INTERVIEW 4, February 13, 1975 The Exposition: Art-in-Action The Exposition: Sculpture The Exposition: Attitudes and Influences Exposition Sculptors The Exposition: Women Artists The Exposition: Summing Up San Francisco as an Art Center INTERVIEW 5, February 20, 1975 World War I1 Years Teaching in the '40s and '50s 'Xiving Pictures" The California School of Fine Arts After World War I1 Paintings and Sculptures of the 1940s Montana The San Francisco Art Festivals The Neighborhood Arts Program Artists ' Organizations From Filbert Street to Stackpole's Studio INTERVIEW 6, February 27, 1975 Liturgical Art Works for the Hanna Center Works for St. Peter's, Redwood City Other Religious Art Works Individual Comis sions The Starr King Statue The IBM Commission Competitions, Submissions and Commissions INTERVIEW 7, March 6, 1975 Sculpture as Therapy Last Months at the Stackpole Studio The House and Studio on Potrero Hill Living on Potrero Hill Travels in Europe; First Trip Travels in Europe; Second Trip Mexico and South America 'Mother and Inf ant I' INTERVIEW 8, March 13, 1975 Jurying Exhibits Liturgical Works, 1960-1975 The Hutchison and Bolles Portraits Works in Wax and Bronze St. Francis The Bolles Tombstones and the Burke Memorial Mend oc ino Methods of Teaching Current Work, 1975 Dorothy Puccinelli Cravath INTERVIEW WITH DOROTHY WAGNER PUCCINELLI CRAVATH, March 20 and 22, 1974 [paginated separately] Artists and Murals WPA Art Works Post Office Murals Family and Early Life Growing Flowers at Montara High School and Art School RUTH CRAVATH ON DOROTHY PUCCINELLI CRAVATH, March 20, 1975 Early Years Work as an Artist Marriage and Motherhood Work in Liturgical Art Paintings Ways of Working Personal Recollections Mural Restoration "A Most Extraordinary Person" APPENDIX: WPA Project Abstract on Dorothy Wagner Puccinelli and Raymond Puccinelli, January, 1937 INDEX INTRODUCTION I don't know now if I first met Ruth Cravath in the turmoil at Treasure Island in 1938, but I can remember the wonderful discussions that I had with her there at noontimes at Grison's, the only restaurant on the island with the foresight to open before the Fair to satisfy the appetites of the hundreds of artists, architects, contractors and purveyors working there. I had just returned from my many years away from San Francisco, and, working in my father's architectural office, I had two commissions on Treasure Island, and worked for the "California Commission for the Golden Gate Interna- tional Exposition". I was new on the scene and swept up in the spirit of working with the artists and architects, and knew Ruth as one of the young women artists dedicated to the concepts of Ralph Stackpole. A few years later my sons Peter and David were enrolled in the Saturday classes at the San Francisco Art Institute with painting under Bill Gaw and sculpture under Ruth Cravath. Today in peter's garden in Kentfield is the four foot long seal cast in concrete - and "strangely" looking like something done by Ruth Cravath. At home we have some delightful small ceramic sculptures by David. In the mid-forties there were not many art classes for children, and I insisted upon ours having such an opportunity. Most classes were composed of beginners and children. Ruth gave classes in her studio as well as those at the Art Institute. Mary shared with me the transportation job from Marin County and then got to know Ruth and joined her studio classes. From then on I was gradually drawn into the life of the Institute, and eventually became the chairman of the board for three years. What a board I had! The women artists dere ably and vocally represented at varying times by Nell Sinton, Ruth Armer, Glo Kirby and Ruth Cravath. I saw many of ~uth'sbas-reliefs of children and asked her to do one of Mary. Finally the ceramic head appeared. This is one of Ruth's finest creations, possibly because of the fluidity of the clay which permitted her to rapidly and firmly set down her impressions. We had had portraits painted by Moya del Pino of all but Tom, and so decided to again ask Ruth to do a head of him, which she executed in her favorite material, hydrocal. Later she used this as her model for carving Tom Bolles in pink marble, and the hydrocal head was cast into bronze. With the acquisition of the cemetery at Timber Cove I was struck with the old concept of having tombstones carved. Now Mary and Ruth are at work on these, with Ruth doing the two bas-relief heads and Mary carving the festoons. When the Archbishop Hanna Center in Sonoma County was assigned to Ward and Bolles, and Ciampi, I insisted on original art for the chapels. I was able to persuade Ciampi, as well as the board, to select Ruth Cravath to create "Our Lady of Fatima" on the facade, the marble stations in the main chapel, and the crucifix. Mary Erckenbrach was given the stations for the Sisters Chapel, which she beautifully executed in glazes applied to twelve inch square ceramic floor tiles. ~ravath'sstations and Crucifix are in themselves worth a trip to Sonoma. Ruth was not an "ecclesiastical" sculptor but was at ease in working with clients and architects. She immediately caught the spirit of this unusual chapel. The exterior sculpture blends with the building but definitely asserts itself. The stations of the cross strongly carry their message, and the Crucifix is magnificent in its simplicity, set against a stone wall behind one of the most simple and largest altars in the Archdiocese. Much of the credit for the success of this project must go to Ruth Cravath who charmed everyone with her warm personality and her dedication to her art. Mary in the meantime had the Sisters so enthralled that we were allowed to keep cold beer in their refrigerator! I have always said that an architect's most difficult consultant is the artist -- probably because I feel that art is a firm part of architecture, and that both have to work together to produce an integrated whole. The architect is always in the position of having to work with his clients and keep the total projects within budget. On the other hand artists have generally worked in a vacuum and time and budget are as vague to them as is the restriction on space and volume. By the time the IBM Plant at San Jose was in full swing I commissioned Ruth to execute one of the IBM "squares" along with Tolerton, Woods, O'Hanlon, Howard, Monroe, Feldman, Erckenbrach, Marie-Rose, and a host of others. I selected the artists using only those from the Bay Area and in whom I had confidence. The artists were to coordinate their work through Bob Holdeman, whom I put on my staff. We had a number of group meetings to establish basic colors and "scale", and although we achieved a permanent compendium of the Bay Area sculpture of the late fifties, we never had the "fun" of Treasure Island. Ruth ~ravath's"Family of Man" there could have been built from her designs, but she wanted to do it herself in Stackpole's old stoneyard where the Villa Taverna Club now stands. I believed her concept one of the best we had, but she would not trust us to execute the work. Later, she gave in on the St. Francis at Candlestick Park. I think that she finally realized the magnitude of the job, and Dorothy Cravath and others helped convince her that the plain concrete forms were in keeping with the monumental concrete architecture of the stadium.