In this week's Objective Standard column, I talk about Millard Sheets--an artist whose name you may not know, but whose work you've almost certainly seen. Excerpt:
...he was startled when Ahmanson gave him carte blanche for the Wilshire Boulevard building. He wasn’t an architect, he protested. Nevertheless, replied Ahamson, “don’t let [anyone else] tell you how to design this building. I want it done the way you would do it if you were doing it for yourself.” So Sheets planned the building as well as the decorations.
The result was a triumph, particularly the mosaics—which seemed to combine the futuristic, streamlined qualities of art deco with the simple candor of Mexican folk art—and the stained glass windows, which celebrated the history of banking. The overall concept was optimistic and dignified; a contemporary bourgeois art appropriate for a lender proud of its part in transforming the Southern California desert into a land of innovation and plenty. Customers loved it, and even wrote Ahmanson thank you letters. “Whether I chose your establishment . . . for the very soul-lifting wall mural is an enigma even to myself,” one enthused. Another thanked him for having “given Los Angeles beauty and strength where unfortunately, others have contributed oblong boxes.” When the bank sent a questionnaire to customers asking why they chose the Wilshire Boulevard branch, the most common answer was “We like to be associated with something beautiful.”
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