Officials have announced the Millard Sheets Pleasures Along the Beach glass mosaic as well as the two sculptures by Richard Ellis and John Svenson, located at 2600 Wilshire Boulevard, will be finding a new home at the Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University in the city of Orange. (https://www.hilbertmuseum.com/the- museum)
Benefactors Mark and Janet Hilbert have deep roots in the California community and began collecting in 1992 with a focus on California figurative art. They took their passion of collecting to the next level by founding the Hilbert Museum of California Art and have continued to produce excellent exhibitions featuring the figurative artists of our state that might have been forgotten as objects of the past. The Museum’s permanent collection includes more than 1,000 paintings – mostly works in watercolor and oil created from the 1930s to the 1970s by such luminaries of the California Scene movement as Millard Sheets, Emil Kosa Jr., Mary Blair, Phil Dike, Milford Zornes and Rex Brandt, among others.
The city of Orange is going through a major downtown re-invigoration, with the Old Towne being restored with art galleries, boutiques, restaurants, and the historic Orange Plaza. The Hilbert Museum plans to integrate these three works into their museum, Chapman University and the city of Orange. They are currently in preparation for receiving the artworks. All three of the donated works will be viewable by the public. The Hilbert Museum currently has in excess of 100,000 visitors per year.
The team is comprised of a group of experts in the field of public art, conservation and restoration. Xiliary Twil, an art historian, accredited senior art appraiser and public art specialist is spear-heading the project. Brian Worley of Brian Worley Art & Restoration, who originally worked on fabricating the mosaic, will be collaborating with Rosa Lowinger and her team of expert conservators at Rosa Lowinger Associates. (rlaconservation.com).
Tony Sheets, son of Millard, has approved of the team and was the person behind the Hilbert Museum accepting the gift, indicating: “It was a pleasure for me to see your enthusiasm for saving the artworks.”
Submitted by Art Asset Management Group, Inc.
