William Wendt: Transcendentalist

Sycamores, 1918 William Wendt (American, 1865-1946) Oil on canvas; 26 3/4 x 42 3/4 x 2 1/4 in. F7678 Martha C. Stevens Memorial Art Collection Transcendental State of Mind The great transcendentalists had come and gone by the time the William Wendt first arrived in California with a brush in hand and love of nature in heart and began painting this ...
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Fine Art OC History
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Legally Fond: The Old Orange County Courthouse

Orange County Courthouse after Completion, 20th Century Unknown Photographer; Santa Ana, California Photographic print; 10 x 8 in. 7019.21 Gift of Mr. Terry Edward Stephenson, Sr. Justice Just Is This year has been one of remembrance and celebration as 2019 marks Santa Ana’s sesquicentennial. With posts on the city’s earliest land holders , the ori...
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OC History
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Prequel to the Origin Story: A Prehistory of Santa Ana’s Foundation

Don Bernardo Yorba’s House, c. 1910 Unknown Photographer; Santa Ana Canyon, California Photographic print; 8 x 10 in. 8478 Gift of Mr. Terry Edward Stephenson, Sr. Variations of a City In both Forged in Fire Safety: The First Santa Ana Fire Department  and A Beginner’s Guide to Santa Ana Street Names  the Bowers Blog has previously looked...
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OC History Photography
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Officers and Offices: History of the Santa Ana Police Department

Motorcycle Officer, early 20th Century Unknown Photographer; Santa Ana, California Photographic print; 10 x 8 in. 37057.2 Leo Tiede Photography Collection Police Story California at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries was very much a part of the frontier, with justice often poorly exacted by unqualified parties. In its earliest ...
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A Beginner’s Guide to Santa Ana Street Names

Map of Santa Ana, 1915 Clyde D. Butler and Geo L. Bates; Santa Ana, California Paper and ink; 20 × 25 5/8 in. 17481 Bowers Museum Permanent Collection Spurgeons, Surgeons and Spurred Dons For those of us who live in, work in or enjoy any of the myriad offerings of Santa Ana, we have spent hundreds, if not thousands of hours traversing the county se...
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Fourth and Fourth: Santa Ana’s 4th Street Independence Day Celebrations

School Children on Float, July 4, 1890 Unknown Photographer; Santa Ana, California Photographic print; 8 x 5 in. 2983 Gift of Mr. William McPherson July the Fourth Be with You There is a lot to like about the Fourth of July. Family, friends and neighbors all come together for a day of celebrating this country’s birth with sumptuous barbeque, plenti...
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Gone Fishing: Catching Neptune’s Bounty on Father’s Day

Fishing Hook, late 19th to early 20th Century Iñupiaq culture; Seward Peninsula Area, Alaska Walrus ivory, lead, iron and cotton thread; 2 1/4 × 4 1/8 in. 39352 Gift of Winifred P. Morgan Let’s See What’s Biting, Champ Some dads fit all the clichés. They are handy when something needs fixing, quick with a pun but otherwise tactful enough to let mom...
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OC History Native American Oceanic Photography
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Forged in Fire Safety: The First Santa Ana Fire Department

Hook and Ladder Volunteer Firemen of Santa Ana, May 1, 1888 Photo by B. F. Conaway; Santa Ana, California Photographic print; 8.5 x 5 ¼ in. 2821 Gift of John Luxembourger Sunny Santa Ana California William H. Spurgeon and his wife spent a few years in the early 1860s living in Los Angeles until she passed away. Heartbroken, he moved back to the Eas...
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OC History Photography Printed Materials US History
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To the Trinity and Beyond: Jesus at the Bowers

Pilgrimage Souvenir, 19th Century Jerusalem, modern-day Israel Mother-of-pearl; 8 ½ x 8 ½ in. 31521 Gift of Mrs. John Carruthers Getting a Rise out of Spring Spring is a time of rebirth. Winter’s chill recedes, new flowers bloom and trees seemingly come back from the dead. Branches which for all the world appeared to be deceased are given Lazaran l...
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Decorative Arts Fine Art OC History
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Thomas Hunt: A Legacy Remembered

Detail of Untitled, c. 1924 Thomas Hunt (Canadian-born American, 1882-1938) Oil on paper on board; 10 x 12 in. F7742 Martha C. Stevens Memorial Art Collection Anti-Entropic Relay Legacy is without a doubt one of the constant thought worms throughout history, and we can all agree that it is not distributed in equal measure to the deceased. While it ...
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Saint Ann’s Inn: Santa Ana’s Love Shack

Saint Ann's Inn and Grounds, 1920s Edward W. Cochems (American, 1874-1949); Santa Ana, California Photographic print 35558.7 Gift of Mr. Eldon G. McNeil Valentine’s Day It’s that day we love to love! Measured in bouquets of flowers, squares of chocolate and cards swarming with weapon-toting winged babies, Valentine’s Day is truly a holiday cherubbe...
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OC History Photography Printed Materials
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Plein to See: Nellie Moulton and the Bequest that Began It All

Detail of Coastline , early 20th Century Nellie Gail Moulton (American, 1878-1972) Oil on masonite; 12 × 14 × 3/4 in. F7736 Martha C. Stevens Memorial Art Collection Stevens Start-off One of the lesser-known facts about the Bowers Museum’s remarkable Fine Art Collection is that we have only paid for one painting. The rest of the Bowers’ 1543 curren...
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Fine Art OC History
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Hewes-ed from Stone

Busts of David Hewes and Franklina Gray, 1877 Giuseppe Andreoni (Italian, 19th Century); Pisa, Italy Marble; Various Dimensions 2697, 32782 Gifts of Mrs. D. Eyman Huff and Mr. & Mrs. James A. Moore Total Bust With American Visionary: John F. Kennedy’s Life and Times having just left the Bowers Museum this past weekend, the portraits section of the ...
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Permanent Collection OC History
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Two Photographers Outside of Orange, California

Bowers Museum’s Bell Tower, c. 1932 Edward W. Cochems (American, 1874-1949); Santa Ana, California Photographic print; 11 x 14 in. 38107.11 Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert S. Borders Same Blog, New Home This week the Bowers Blog is happy to announce a re-release on a new platform! As we continue to improve the way in which we share our collections, we ...
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Permanent Collection OC History Photography
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Three Vignettes of Frank Coburn

Street Scene in the Rain, c.1921 Frank Coburn (American, 1862-1938) Oil on canvas; 23 × 27 1/2 in. 3953 Gift of Georgia DeLong in memory of her brother, Frank Coburn Beginning For painters like Frank Coburn, capturing beauty began with finding it in places where few others could see it. Much of Coburn’s oeuvre is represented by the bright and pictu...
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The Magnificent Floyd

Floyd E. Stewart Performing Magic, c. 1936 Edward W. Cochems (American, 1874-1949); Santa Ana, California Photographic print; Various Dimensions 36247.3,.4 Gift of Mrs. Weston Walker April Fools bring May LOL’s It takes a rare skill to fool others, especially in a way which delights and entertains rather than leaves one somehow feeling cheated. The...
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Permanent Collection OC History Photography
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Shamrocks for a Glam Box: Placentia Mutual's Signature Brand

Shamrock Brand Citrus Crate Label, 1930-1939 Western Lithograph Company (American, 1908-1985); Los Angeles, California Chromolithograph; 10 x 10 ¾ in. 82.59.2 Gift of Mr. Andrew E. Coen St. Patrick’s Day Stereotypical symbols like leprechauns and their pots of gold may seem hackneyed, but the shamrock—characteristically a species of three-leaf clov...
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Permanent Collection OC History Printed Materials
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On My Honor: The Legacy of the Boy Scouts of America

Weapons for Liberty, 1917 Joseph Leyendecker (German-born American, 1874-1951) Paper; 35 x 25 ½ in. 96.41.5 Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Weston F. Sprague Most everyone wants to be involved in something greater than themselves, and for many boys and young men in the United States it has historically been the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). On August 1, 1907, ...
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Costume and Textile Permanent Collection OC History
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Silkwood: The Glue that brought Orange County Together

Silkwood 2:07 , 1893 Ella Congdon (American, 1871 - 1920) Oil on canvas R.2014.4.100 Bowers Museum Collections First Annual Fair Life Membership Ticket Orange County Fair Association; Santa Ana, California Paper; 2 x 4 1/2 in. 36164.1 Gift of Miss Gertrude Montgomery The creation of Orange County in 1889 was not universally well received, and its u...
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