As part of Berggruen Gallery: 55 Years, we will be showing the film Art in San Francisco, written and directed by Heinz Berggruen, on our lower level. Only recently digitized, Art in San Francisco surveys the Bay Area art scene during the early years of World War II.
Shot on 16mm film, Art in San Francisco includes scenes of the Montgomery Block art studios; artists at work such as Ralph Stackpole, Victor Arnautoff, Robert Boardman Howard, and Dong Kingman, among others; and public art throughout the city. The film takes a close look at classes and social life at the California School of Fine Arts (later known as the San Francisco Art Institute), the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, and community art exhibitions.
We will also display historical archives related to both the history of Berggruen Gallery and Heinz Berggruen’s connection to the city of San Francisco. Complimentary archival posters and Berggruen Gallery catalogues will be available on opening night in celebration of the many decades of world-class art in San Francisco.