Bison Hunt fresco by Charles Kassler Jr. at the Los Angeles Central Library, Los Angeles, 1934

Item Overview

Title

Bison Hunt fresco by Charles Kassler Jr. at the Los Angeles Central Library, Los Angeles, 1934

Artist

Kassler, Charles Jr., $d 1897-1979

Date Created

1934

Date

1934

Publisher

Los Angeles Times

Language

No linguistic content

Collection

Los Angeles Times Photographic Collection
OpenUCLA Collections

Notes

Description

Charles Kassler Jr. was a painter, printmaker, and lithographer. He lost a hand during a high school chemistry experiment. He studied art and architecture at Princeton University and the Chicago Art Institute. From 1925 to 1932 Kassler continued his studies while living at various times in New Mexico, Europe, and North Africa. While in France he apprenticed himself to a well-known fresco painter. He was active in Denver before moving to Los Angeles in 1933. He painted murals for the Federal Art Project and was an instructor at the Chouinard Art School (1933-34) and School of Design in Pasadena (1939).
View of the Bison Hunt fresco located in the Children's Court of the Los Angeles Public Library (Los Angeles Central Library).
The fifty foot fresco was one of the 2 largest frescoes created under the Public Works of Art Project (PWAP). The other is the "Pastoral California" frescoe, also by Kassler. Damaged by rain runoff over the years, the Bison Hunt fresco was painted over in 1963. When the Tom Bradley wing was added to the Library, the entrance to what was the children’s department was moved to become the entrance to the Mark Taper Auditorium, and the children’s court was also relocated, including the sculptures by Lee Lawrie.

Caption

Text from negative sleeve: Los Angeles Library, Frescoes

Physical Description

Extent

1 photograph

Medium

b&w nitrate negative

Keywords

Genre

news photographs
cellulose nitrate film

Names

Public Works of Art Project (U.S.)
Los Angeles Public Library. Central Library

Location

Los Angeles (Calif.)

Longitude

34.050526

Latitude

-118.254985

Resource type

still image

Subjects

Murals--California--Los Angeles
People
Government
Environment
Public art--California--Los Angeles
Arts