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University of California Berkeley Regional Oral History Office University of California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, California History of Bay Area Philanthropy Series Phyllis Wattis THE LIFE CYCLE OF A PERSONAL FOUNDATION, 1958-1988 With an Introduction by George Lindsay Interviews Conducted by Caroline Crawford in 1990 of California Copyright (c) 1991 by The Regents of the University Since 1954 the Regional Oral History Office has been interviewing leading participants in or well-placed witnesses to major events in the development of Northern California, the West, and the Nation. Oral history is a modern research technique involving an interviewee and an informed interviewer in spontaneous conversation. The taped record is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. The resulting manuscript is typed in final form, indexed, bound with photographs and illustrative materials, and placed in The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and other research collections for scholarly use. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account, offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is reflective, partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ************************************ All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement between The Regents of the University of California and Phyllis Wattis dated June 11, 1990. 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, Berkeley. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to the Regional Oral History Office, 486 Library, University of California, Berkeley 94720, 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 Phyllis Wattis requires that she be notified of the request and allowed thirty days in which to respond. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Phyllis Wattis, "The Life Cycle of a Personal Foundation, 1958-1988," an oral history conducted in 1990 by Caroline Crawford, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 1991. Copy no . Phyllis Wattis and Dr. A. Castro, President of the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Hearing and Speech Center, at the dedication of the Wattis Building on September 8, 1980. Cataloging Information WATTIS, Phyllis (b. 1905) Philanthropist The Life Cycle of a Personal Foundation. 1958-1988. 1991, xiii, 130 pp. Childhood in Utah; Mormonism; marriage to Paul Wattis and raising a family; to Utah Construction and Mining (Utah International) ; exposure and collection of contemporary art; the Paul L. and Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation, i.958-1988; merger of Utah International and General Electric; cultural life in San Francisco; reflections on the running of a foundation and personal philanthropy. Introduction by George Lindsay, former director of the California Academy of Sciences . Interviewed 1990 by Caroline Crawford for the History of Bay Area Philanthropy Series, the Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. TABLE OF CONTENTS --Phyllis C. Wattis PREFACE i INTRODUCTION by George Lindsay vii INTERVIEW HISTORY x BRIEF BIOGRAPHY xiii I GROWING UP IN UTAH: 1905-1936 1 Great-grandfather Brigham Young and Grandfather George Q. 1 Cannon Polygamy and "Underground Days" 3 George Q. Cannon's Mission to Hawaii 4 The Mormon Faith 5 Early Memories 6 Cultural Life 8 A Grand Tour of Europe 9 Father's Business and Parents' Travels 11 Parents' Expectations 11 Coming to Berkeley 12 Meeting Paul Wattis 13 Marriage and a Honeymoon at Boulder Dam 14 More About Parents 16 The Wattis Family and the Railroads 17 The Utah Construction and Mining Company 17 II MOVING TO SAN FRANCISCO: 1936 19 The Birth of the Children and a New Home 19 San Francisco in the 1930s: The Museum of Modern Art and the 21 San Francisco Opera An Interest in Archeology and Primitive Art 24 Attending Opera and Theater 25 Schools for the Children 25 Traveling for Business and Pleasure 26 III COLLECTING ART 35 The Museum of Modern Art Activities Board 35 The Society for the Encouragement of Contemporary Art 37 Buying in Europe 38 On Contemporary Art 41 Country Homes : The Ranch in Sonoma 42 Pauma 45 IV SETTING UP THE FOUNDATION: 1958 49 The Board of Directors 50 Foundation Guidelines 51 The Wattis Hall of Man at the Academy of Sciences: 1973 53 The Grant Process 54 V RUNNING THE FOUNDATION: 1971-1988 58 Learning the Ropes 58 The Crash of '87 61 The Wattis Room at Davies Symphony Hall: 1981 62 More About the Wattis Hall at Academy 63 Funding the San Francisco Opera: Midsummer Marriage. Lulu. 63 and Wozzeck A Lifesaving Gift for the Opera: Out of the Red and into 65 the Black: 1984 Grantee Accountability 68 Minorities and the Arts 68 Grant Proposals 69 The General Electric-Utah International Merger: 1976 71 More About the First Major Gift: 1973 72 The Collection That Got Away: Primitive Art 73 More About Foundation Guidelines 74 Distribution of the General Electric Stock 76 Proposition 13 and Federal Tax Changes 77 Environmental Grants 79 San Francisco Symphony: The Wattis Major Production Fund 80 Harry Horrow Retires from the Board 82 VI TERMINATING THE FOUNDATION: 1988 83 Making the Decision 83 Community Response 84 Determining the Gifts 86 VII SOME SPECIAL GRANTS 89 Controversial Grants 90 More About Underwriting Opera Productions and Serving on 91 the Board The Nature Conservancy 95 VIII SUMMING UP 97 Friends 97 The Wattis Rotunda at the Museum of Modern Art 99 Thoughts on the Future of Public and Private Philanthropy 101 A New Life 102 Looking Back 105 TAPE GUIDE 109 APPENDICES 110 A. Wattis Foundation Guidelines 111 B. Plan of Compelete Liquidation 112 April 23, 1989 C. Phyllis Wattis Day- -Art Agnos's Proclamation, February 14, 1989 123 D. "Checks are in the Mail," San Francisco Chronicle. 124 September 21, 1988 E. An Angel? In Lulu?. San Francisco Opera Magazine 1989 season 125 F. "Patron Saint of the Arts," San Francisco Examiner. 127 INDEX 128 PREFACE Northern California Grantmakers and the Regional Oral History Office of The Bancroft Library at the University of California at Berkeley are pleased to present this series of oral histories documenting the growth and development of Bay Area philanthropy during the last twenty -five years. It is our hope that these memoirs will both preserve a record of the experiences and philosophies of selected senior members of the philanthropic community, and encourage greater understanding and discussion of the traditions of charitable giving. The starting point for this series was an earlier project of the Regional Oral History Office, completed in 1976, which documented Bay Area foundation history in the 1930s and 1940s, and the evolution of issues and leadership in the 1950s and 1960s. The current series focusses on the significant changes which have occurred since that time, including the tremendous growth in corporate giving, changes in the role of the government in supporting the arts and human services, and increased collaboration among grantmakers. Selection of prospective interviewees for the project involved many hard choices among outstanding persons in Bay Area philanthropy. The final selection was made by The Bancroft Library and reflects the broad spectrum of grantmaking organizations and styles in the Bay Area. The guiding principal has been to preserve a record of the thinking and experience of men and women who have made significant contributions in shaping the philanthropic response to the many changes which have occurred over the last twenty- five years. ii Overall guidance for the project has been provided by an advisory committee composed of representatives from the philanthropic community and the U.C. Berkeley faculty. The advisory committee is particularly indebted to Florette White Pomeroy and John R. May, whose enthusiasm, leadership and wise counsel made the project possible. The committee is also grateful to the twelve foundations and corporations which generously contributed the necessary financial support to conduct the project. Members of the advisory committee and the contributors are listed on the following pages. The director for the project is Gabrielle Morris, who conducted the previous project on the history of Bay Area foundations. The Regional Oral History Office was established in 1954 to tape record autobiographical interviews with persons significant in the history if California and the West. The Office is under the administrative direction of Peter Hanff, Interim Director of The Bancroft Library, and Willa K. Baum, Division Head of the Office. Copies of all interviews in this series are available for research use in Foundation Center libraries in San Francisco and New York, at the Peninsula Community Foundation in San Mateo, The Bancroft Library, and UCLA Department of Special Collections. Selected interviews are also available at other manuscript depositories . For the advisory committee, Ruth Chance Thomas Layton October 1991 San Francisco, California Ill HISTORY OF BAY AREA PHILANTHROPY SERIES Morris M. Doyle, The Spirit and Morale of Private Philanthropy: Stanford University and the James Irvine Foundation. 1990 Herman E. Gallegos, Equity and Diversity: Hispanics in the Nonprofit World. 1989. Rhoda H. and Richard M. Goldman, in process. W. Collected on and the Hewlett Roger Heyns , Thoughts Grantmaking Foundation. 1989. Sally Lilienthal, Funding Prevention of Nuclear War. 1989. Aspects of San Leslie Luttgens , Organizational Philanthropy: Francisco Bav Area. 1948-1988. 1990. Charles Patterson, in process Madeleine Haas Russell, in process.