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In Search of Frank Bowers… Vivian Laird's Jungle Room mural discovered !! |
mrsmiley
Grand Member (8 years) 
Joined: Apr 03, 2002
Posts: 3153
From: Las Vegas, NV
|  Posted: 2013-03-12 01:30 am Permalink
[quote]
On 2009-10-02 11:38, JOHN-O wrote:
Here's some more background on Frank Bowers that I was able to dig up.
In an earlier post, I noted there were 1930's-era Bowers murals at South Gate City Hall (8650 California Ave). I'm assuming they're still there, I'll need to pay a visit. I noticed that works of this era were done in conjunction with an Arthur Prunier.
http://www.grconnect.com/murals/html/p8291022.html
What a range of work !! You can find Bowers in city government offices and corporate boardrooms as well as the diviest of LA dive bars.
[/quote
I am adding the pictures from Grconnect because it looks like that site may be dead.
Location: South Gate City Hall
Address: 8650 California Ave. (near Firestone Blvd.)
Artist: Frank Bowers, Arthur Prunier
Sponsor: Federal Art Project
Keywords: interior, community, mural
Area: Vernon to Compton
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bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10557
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2013-03-12 07:39 am Permalink
Bruce - Ketchikan, grave site, etc...it's all been covered in the previous pages here, babe.
I would love to find some more examples of his story board artist work for the studios. before he went all muralist.
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Hakalugi
Site Administrator
Joined: Aug 10, 2004
Posts: 2802
From: Redondo Beach, CA
| Posted: 2013-04-08 5:26 pm Permalink
Last month I was contacted by someone named Terri and she said she may have located a rather large Frank Bowers mural. She found Tiki Central and contacted me to see if I could help identify it. I asked her to please send me some photos. In the meantime I figured she may have already seen the In Search of Frank Bowers thread but I specifically pointed out to her a postcard that Dustycajun posted of Vivian Laird's Restaurant and Jungle Room:
Close up of the mural:
She replied with the following:
"Break out the cocktails because we have something to celebrate! It's undoubtedly a match."
Shortly after, I received some photos of it. This mural is about six feet tall and thirty feet long and is certainly not the easiest thing to photograph. Here are the photos from left to right, section by section.
I asked Terri how she managed to find this thing. She said a good friend of hers was hired to do some repair work and clean-up at a residence in the Palm Springs area. In return he was allowed to keep the mural, which apparently was all rolled up, among several rolls of upholstery fabric. He brought it over to her and they soon discovered that it was signed by Frank Bowers. After a little investigative search on the internet they found Tiki Central and contacted me.
Terri tells me,
Quote:
| It has been appraised and it is for sale, the price negotiable. It is in the Palm Springs, CA area. I'm still trying to find out how it got from Vivian Lairds to a house in Palm Springs. I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, if anyone is interested in purchasing this monster mural (6ft x 30ft), please let me know. Thanks so much!
Cheers! |
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Well there you have it. If anyone here is interested in possibly purchasing this historic Frank Bowers mural please PM me and I'll forward your contact information to Terri.
Mahalo!
-Haka
Edited to lock images in a vertical format.
[ This Message was edited by: Hakalugi 2013-04-09 12:44 ]
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Dustycajun
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Nov 16, 2007
Posts: 3916
From: Santa Barbara, CA
| Posted: 2013-04-08 9:53 pm Permalink
As the late Huell Howser would have said "That's Amazing!" One of the reasons that Tiki Central is so great, that finds like these come to light through the internet search button.
Thanks for posting Haka. So, whose gonna step up and buy that beauty?
DC
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Sabu The Coconut Boy
Grand Member (8 years)
Joined: Aug 20, 2002
Posts: 2784
From: Carson, California
| Posted: 2013-04-08 10:43 pm Permalink
To see actual photos that iconic Vivian Lairds mural in color is truly a feast for the eyes! Thanks for posting these, Haka. I hope someone who owns an operational bar can purchase this mural and display it. I'd love to visit it.
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Bruddah Bear
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Apr 07, 2011
Posts: 566
From: Los Angeles Basin, Westside
| Posted: 2013-04-09 12:53 am Permalink
Huzzah! Another lost work of art is rescued from neglect and potential destruction by someone's keen eye, intuition, and curiosity.
Well done.
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Hale Tiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Oct 19, 2004
Posts: 1380
From: Pittsburgh
| Posted: 2013-04-09 04:57 am Permalink
Now for a tikiphile to rescue it! (despite it not being tiki, I just trust them the most to do it justice)
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bigbrotiki
Tiki Socialite
Joined: Mar 25, 2002
Posts: 10557
From: Tiki Island, above the Silverlake
| Posted: 2013-04-09 07:33 am Permalink
Quote:
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On 2013-04-09 00:53, Bruddah Bear wrote:
Huzzah! Another lost work of art is rescued from neglect and potential destruction by someone's keen eye, intuition, and curiosity.
Well done.
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...and it has surfaced here thanks to the combined efforts of several dedicated TC urban archeologists whose findings have created the best web resource on the artist here.
Indeed a great discovery!
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JOHN-O
Grand Member (first year) 
Joined: May 16, 2008
Posts: 2450
From: Dogtown, USA
| Posted: 23 days ago; 9:44 pm Permalink
Hey the Hard Hat Lounge website has a link to this TC thread !!
I'm still floored by mrsmiley's fantastic discovery.
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