Installation view of “Making a Scene” at the Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art on the Utah State University campus in Logan. Image by Shawn Rossiter.

What was happening on America’s other coast as New York City was poised to become the center of the international art world? The Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art explores this question by digging into its surprisingly rich vaults to stage San Francisco, the Golden Years 1930-1960: Making a Scene, an exhibit that offers a delightful snapshot of the influential styles that flourished on the West Coast at midcentury. Fans of Abstract Surrealism will be especially delighted by this exhibit.

Making a Scene opens with an alcove devoted to the dynamic San Francisco art scene of the 1930s, capturing the social and political upheavals of the era. The gold rush was decades behind, the city was still rebuilding from the earthquake and Los Angeles was surpassing San Francisco in both population and economic power, but the city by the bay became a gathering place for a diverse group of artists, writers, and intellectuals, drawn by its vibrant, progressive atmosphere. As demonstrated by Lorser Feitelson’s “Sketch of Spirit of Electricity,” which celebrates the technological optimism of the period, The Federal Art Project provided crucial support for public art and murals (most notably  Diego Rivera’s). By contrast, Dorothea Lange’s haunting photograph of a migrant mother reflects the harsh realities faced by many during the Great Depression. John Langley Howard’s “Elemental Drifts” channels a more introspective mood of the time, conveying the sense of isolation and disconnection many felt.

While San Francisco never rivaled New York as a dominant art center, many of the same forces that shaped New York’s art scene in the 1940s, such as the exchange of ideas and the influx of artists fleeing Europe’s upheavals, were also at play on the West Coast, often via New York. In James McCray’s “Jointed, Disjointed,” with its bold, angular forms and vibrant use of primary colors, we can see the influence of geometric abstraction, especially the work of Piet Mondrian, who painted “Broadway Boogie Woogie” just a few years before.  Similarly, the glyph-like forms in Ellwood Graham’s  “Coxcomb,” reflects the influence of the artist’s time in New York City’s Greenwich Village, where artists like Robert Motherwell and Adolph Gottlieb were experimenting with a similar vocabulary.

Abstract Surrealism, the strain of the movement exemplified by artists like Joan Miro, Yves Tanguy and Robert Matta, exerted a strong influence on artists from both coasts and Making a Scene center’s the core of its exhibit on this influence.  Dorr Bothwell’s “Stag’s Heart” and Clay Spohn’s “Blue Moon” employ symbolic, angular figures to explore psychological and narrative depth, blending surrealist imagery with geometric abstraction. Charles Howard’s “The Visitants” and Madge Knight’s untitled painting push the boundaries of abstraction, creating intricate compositions that evoke tension through ambiguous forms, from organic shapes to surreal, floating objects that straddle the line between order and chaos. Margaret Tomkins uses muted, natural tones and abstract forms to grapple with environmental and social issues, echoing Surrealism’s emphasis on transformation and metamorphosis. The sculptural works in the exhibition are particularly striking, with Adaline Kent’s Gambler embodying the movement’s exploration of negative space and playful tension between the organic and abstract. Robert Howard’s “Night Watch” conveys surreal, metamorphic qualities, while Harry Crotty’s “Of the Sea #4 “pushes the aesthetic further, with a skeletal, driftwood-like structure evoking a dreamlike fusion of nature and abstraction.

Several key factors facilitated the spread of Surrealism to San Francisco. Artists like Wolfgang Paalen, Gordon Onslow-Ford and Roberto Matta were instrumental in bringing surrealist ideas to the Bay Area. Paalen, with direct ties to the Paris surrealist movement, moved to Mexico before settling in the U.S., where he, Onslow-Ford, and Lee Mullican formed the Dynaton group in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The Dynaton group introduced surrealist methods such as automatism and the exploration of inner consciousness into the West Coast’s artistic lexicon. Their work sought to transcend conventional boundaries of abstraction by incorporating ideas from astrophysics, quantum theory, and non-Western art forms, particularly Native American and pre-Columbian artifacts. The group’s 1951 exhibition at the San Francisco Museum of Art showcased their visionary approach, blending abstract visual language with mystical and spiritual undertones. Onslow-Ford’s “Voyager in Space” is a celestial exploration of form, using dots, lines, and circles to evoke the cosmic patterns at the heart of his abstract vision, influenced by Zen calligraphy. Mullican’s “The Ninnekah” radiates with vibrant, meditative patterns that reflect the artist’s exploration of nature and consciousness. Paalen’s “Soeurs Obsidiennes” draws inspiration from the volcanic landscapes and rich obsidian deposits of Oregon, merging cosmic abstraction with textured patterns to evoke both the natural and mystical worlds. Though short-lived, the Dynaton group left a lasting impact on the San Francisco art scene, laying the groundwork for future abstract and spiritual movements in the region.

Institutions like the California School of Fine Arts (now the San Francisco Art Institute) played a key role in introducing surrealism and European modernist movements to a new generation of American artists. Teachers like Clyfford Still and Hassel Smith exposed students to the possibilities of abstraction and surrealist thought, helping to solidify San Francisco’s role as a center for artistic experimentation. Though some of these artists would later become known for their return to figuration, at the beginning of the ’50s many were still heavily influenced by automatic drawing and abstract expressionism. Richard Diebenkorn’s “Untitled (Albuquerque),” with its gestural lines and washes, exemplifies this transitional moment, where abstract forms and intuitive mark-making dominate the composition. Similarly, Robert McChesney’s “Mexico B14” reflects the West Coast abstractionists’ connection to nature, using fluid paint application to evoke atmospheric landscapes. In Sonia Gechtoff’s “Icon,” bold palette knife strokes create a hedonistic texture that pulses with color and movement, while James Kelly’s thickly applied brushwork captures the energy of abstract expressionism with dynamic, gestural surfaces. Philip Roeber’s “Untitled” embodies a quieter, more textural approach, with layered surfaces emphasizing emotional depth, while Edward Corbett explores the soft, enigmatic qualities of charcoal in his untitled work, suggesting mist-enshrouded landscapes.

Works by artists from the Dynaton group with, from left, Wolfgang Paalen, “Soeurs Obsidiennes,” 1952; Lee Mullican, “The Ninnekah,” 1951; and Gordon Onslow-Ford, Voyager in Space,” circa 1968.  Image by Shawn Rossiter.

From left, Richard Diebenkorn, “Untitled, (Albuquerque),” 1952; Edward Corbett, “Taos #8,” 1952; Robert McChesney, “Mexico B14,”
1952; and Philip Roeber, “Untitled,” 1958. Image by Shawn Rossiter.

Making a Scene is an especially pleasing exhibition because we see little of this work in Utah, where surrealism and geometric abstraction never had much purchase. For the most part, our art history narrative jumps from a form of impressionist-inspired regionalism to an eventual though less-than-enthusiastic acceptance of abstract expressionism via artists like Lee Deffebach, Doug Snow and Don Olsen— all of whom were exposed to abstraction through the New York School. But San Francisco could have had its moment. Now largely forgotten, Salt Lake City artist John Mizuno studied at the CSFA just after the war and brought to Utah a commitment to a non-objective style of automatic painting that garnered praise and awards for a brief period. Frank Bacher, Utah’s first abstract artist, moved to San Francisco in the early ’50s, returning to Salt Lake City more than once to show his new style, a form of lyrical surrealism ala Arshile Gorky.

Making a Scene offers a captivating look into the artistic currents that flowed through San Francisco during the mid-20th century, highlighting a moment when the West Coast was deeply engaged with the international avant-garde. While San Francisco may not have rivaled New York in size or influence, its art scene was shaped by the same global forces, from the influx of European surrealists to the bold experiments in abstraction and geometry. The exhibit showcases the diversity and richness of these movements, particularly Abstract Surrealism, which found fertile ground in the Bay Area’s open, progressive environment.

Installation view of San Francisco the Golden Years, 1930-1960: Making a Scene with Robert Boardman Howard’s “Night Watch,” 1949-1950, in the foreground. Image by Shawn Rossiter.

San Francisco the Golden Years, 1930-1960: Making a Scene, Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Logan, through June 30, 2025

Shawn Rossiter

The founder of Artists of Utah and editor of its online magazine, 15 Bytes, Shawn Rossiter has undergraduate degrees in English, French and Italian Literature and studied Comparative Literature in graduate school before pursuing a career in art.