of the riverside art museum

 

A Short History of the Riverside Art Museum and the Art Alliance of the Riverside Art Museum By: Unknown Art Alliance Historian Since its inception as the "Spanish Art Society of California" by the late Frank Miller, founder of the famous Mission Inn, the Riverside Art Museum has played a preeminent role in the visual arts in the Riverside area.  In 1956 the Museum was formally incorporated as the Riverside Arts Center and Museum and began an annual series of exhibitions and classes in various media for both children and adults. In 1965, twelve women founded the Art Alliance of the Riverside Art Museum.  They were Lucille Clarke, Betty Facey, Katie Grigsby, Birk Hinderaker, Barbara Colville, Elizabeth Kuhlins, Doris Miller, Ruth Place, Betty Powell, Betty Reade, Dottie Smith and Margaret Woodford.  From this original group of twelve, the Art Alliance now has a membership of over 200 members.  During the early years, members met in homes, garages, the Adobe of the Mission Inn and even the City Dog Pound, that was rented from the City of Riverside for $1 a year.  When Dottie Smith was President, the very first Sales and Rental Gallery was established in the former cat houses of the old pound. In 1966, the YWCA decided to relocate to Magnolia Avenue near Adams Street and they put their downtown location up for sale. Everyone decided to purchase that building located at the corner of Mission Inn Avenue and Lime Streets instead of building on the Dog Pound site.  The two-story, 20,000 square foot, Spanish influenced building designed by Julia Morgan and built in 1929, was renovated into a series of gallery space and classrooms.  The building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
	The Art Alliance of the Riverside Art Museum Who Are We Today? The Art Alliance is a unique organization! While operating as the fundraising arm of the Riverside Art Museum, we create our own events and projects that focus on community, art and membership fun. Some of our projects include: Studio Tour & Gala - On April 28, 2012, the Art the Art Alliance of the Riverside Art Museum will hold a tour of 7 artist's studios & an evening gala.  You will tour the studios of Helen Bell, Charles Bibbs, Tiffany Brooks - studio and gardens,  Judy Davies, Paulden Evans - studio and sculpture gardens, Denise Kramer, and Marty Tobias.  Each tour artists will be donating a piece of their art for a live auction at the evening event.  The Spring Project concludes with an evening gala.  Since the museum was built in 1929 the theme is the 20’s. Collectible Festival - On May 5-7, 2011, the Art Alliance of the Riverside Art Museum held a huge art & collectibles sale, called Art Swap.  Starting Thursday evening on May 5th, the event encompassed an entire gallery of paintings, glass, pottery, jewelry & collectibles for sale to the community.  On May 6th from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm Bonham’s and Butterfields of Los Angeles came to the museum to appraise special treasures.  There was a $35.00 charge per item and these specialists appraised jewelry, paintings, furniture and decorative arts. Off-the-Wall - November 18, 2011 thru December 1, 2011, hundreds of original works of art, framed and ready to take “off the wall” create the largest art sale in Riverside.  Held annually each November, Off-the-Wall has generated funds for the Riverside Art Museum annually. Garden Tour - May 1, 2010 we held our spring event “Gardens of Historic Homes” .  This was a tour of gardens around Riverside that were extraordinary.  Light refreshments were included in the ticket price, musicians performed, plein air artists worked in several gardens, and artist vendors were selling hand crafted pieces at the refreshment site venue. The Banner ARTVenture – March 2009 a display of large banners, sized 30” by 96”, were hung from the streetlights in three different areas of the city (downtown on Lime and 14th Streets, on University near University of California Riverside and on Van Buren Blvd and Magnolia Ave in the Arlington area).  Artists submitted original artwork that were juried and screened onto the vinyl banners.  On May 28th a silent auction was held where over 100 original pieces of art used for the banners were sold! 2008 Canstruction®  - Teams of designers compete for prizes by creating giant sculptures made from canned foods.  Later, these sculptures were disassembled and donated to Second Harvest Food Bank. The event in 2007 and 2008, was unique and a first for the city of Riverside.   Please check out our 2007 Canstruction® Event too! The Giant Orange ArtVenture - 32 giant fiberglass oranges, designed by local artists and underwritten by local businesses and individuals, created the largest outdoor art show in Riverside’s history.  Our ‘gala opening’ at White Park in 2006 showcased the one-of-a-kind oranges to 1,700 guests. This extraordinary project generated over $125,000 for RAM. Art Alive -Local florists are inspired by art, and their creations form the inspirational focus for ‘Art Alive’.  Special events throughout the show include speakers, luncheons and cocktail parties.  Art Alive was held annually since 2005. Art Fun-in-the-Sun - A children’s art festival, Art Fun-in-the-Sun was held for many years to introduce children to the Riverside Art Museum and the joys of art. These are just a few examples of the kinds of projects the Art Alliance creates for our community and for the benefit of the Riverside Art Museum.  Read more about our projects and about membership in our organization on this web site!
Mission and Purpose of the Art Alliance of the Riverside Art Museum The Art Alliance is a volunteer organization whose members plan, support, and participate in activities that benefit the Riverside Art Museum and contribute to its operating budget.  We create our own events and projects that focus on community, art and membership fun.   The Art Alliance shall be under the jurisdiction of the Board of Trustees of the Riverside Art Museum (RAM) per article IX of RAM Bylaws. The Riverside Art Museum looks to the Art Alliance for major support in contributing to its operating budget.