Golden Gate Bridge at 75, 2012
120″ wide x 84″ high, mixed media on canvas
Created in celebration of the 75th anniversary of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge
This painting is a tribute to the vision, determination, skill and sacrifice of the many people we have to thank for this magnificent icon. In the lower left corner of the painting you will see the faces of five important players in the creation of the bridge. From left to right:
- Joseph Baermann Strauss, Chief Engineer, who doggedly pursued the idea of building a Golden Gate Bridge after being asked in 1917 to offer a proposal by city engineer Michael M. O’Shaughnessy, and eventually saw it through to completion.
- Amadeo Peter Giannini, financial guarantor whose Bank of America bought $6 million in bonds in 1932, without which the project would probably have never got off the ground.
- Irving F. Morrow, consulting architect with is wife Getrude C. Morrow (they replaced the initial consulting architect John Eberson) and who, building on Eberson’s initial design and in close consultation with assistant engineer Clifford Paine, was responsible for the beautiful Art Deco styling. Irving Morrow lobbied successfully for the distinctive International Orange color.
- Charles Ellis, key engineering expert who undertook many of the complex design calculations (they filled ten volumes).
- Leon Moissieff, designer of the NY Manhattan Bridge, who contributed force calculations and worked closely with Ellis.
The workers who toiled above and below the treacherous waters are represented in the mid-left section of the painting. Throughout the artwork are newspaper clippings from the San Francisco Chronicle published on May 27th, 1937, the day the bridge was opened to the public, and the subsequent two days. The opening of the bridge was accompanied by a parade and a city-wide “Fiesta” featuring multiple celebrations, events and venues. The Fiesta program is included in the artwork.
Provenance
This painting is a one-of-a-kind original artwork in the collection of the artist. It is available for sale. It has previously been publicly exhibited at the GGB75 Soirée and at the Embarcadero Conference Center, both in San Francisco.