Women Designers

Larry and I stopped at the Autry Museum yesterday to see "California's Designing Women, 1896-1986." It was a good exhibit, curated by our friend, Bill Stern. I was expecting a larger selection of objects, but space is limited here at the Autry.

Barbara Willis' California Pottery

There was pottery, furniture, fashion, jewelry, tapestries, lamps, decorative objects from the Arts and Crafts Movement and more.

Esta James' Franciscan Dinner Plates

I was most interested to see the Franciscan plates designed by my former ceramics teacher, Esta James. Even though Esta was designing for the mass-manufacturer who did not want individual artists' work recognized in their dishes, Esta managed to hide her name inside the flower design. She was a wonderful ceramics teacher. I attended classes with Esta at Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts when I was a teenager.


We also viewed some of the pop-culture western art in the Autry's permanent collection. Who doesn't like seeing Hopalong Cassidy lunchboxes, Annie Oakley posters and Roy Rogers' decorative cowboy boots?

Map to illustrate the Ponderosa in Nevada, 1959.
Seen on "Bonanza" TV show from 1959-1973

Gene Autry and his horse, Champion.
Bronze Statue, Courtyard of Autry Museum