Tahoe Art League

History

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Written by Alice Tresidder, 1970;  and added to by Irma Roughton, 2004.

Irma Roughton
Irma Roughton, Founding Member and President 1971 & 1997.

The Tahoe Art League was formed in 1964. Starting as a social club, a few artists got together and met at South Tahoe Middle School. Everyone brought their paints and we painted! Tish Hall, from the Tahoe Garden Club, would set up a still life arrangement and we would all paint. If a new person came in and wanted to join the art league, they would have to step out of the room while we voted on whether to accept them. No one was ever turned away. We would have our very successful outdoor Shows at the Crescent V Shopping Center (now Heavenly Shopping Center) on the sidewalk in front of Lawrence’s Department Store (now Sports LTD). One year, the television comedian Phyllis Diller was in town. She came to our show and purchased many works of art from us. The Tahoe Art League made her an honorary member. Phyllis kept in touch with us and whenever she was in town she would buy art from the Tahoe Art League.

In 1965, Eileen Linglebach moved to Tahoe and opened an art supply store and immediately started to form a full-fledged art league that could pull and work together. The previous attempts had failed. Alice Tresidder became our first president in 1965 and helped to organize our first major activities. Since that time, many members have put a great deal of time and effort into forming what we now know as the Tahoe Art League.
Alice Tresidder, TAL’s First President 1965-66
The Tahoe Art League launched its first official activities in July 1965 with a major outdoor art show at the Tahoe Keys. The membership decided to meet weekly, holding a workshop where artists, both beginners and advanced could work together and share ideas. Various locations were used, including artists own studios until a fine place materialized though the assistance of the Lake Tahoe Unified School District. Arrangement was made to use Room # 6 of the Intermediate School, Wednesday evenings. No specified instruction was offered, but unofficial aid was available from advanced or professional league members. The school room was also made available for monthly program-meetings where critiques and demonstrations were held, featuring professional instructors, often from neighboring Nevada areas.
In the summer of 1968 a venture of an Artist’s Co-Operative Gallery was given a try. The location, Highway 50 near Ski Run Blvd., seemed promising, but the factors of both limited space for display of paintings and for parking, plus monthly rental, did not warrant plans to keep the building for more than the summer months. Each summer the Tahoe Art League produced outdoor shows during several summer weekends, however, two excellent exhibits at the Villa Lodge, offered by local realtor Ralph Anderson, were held indoors with the winter one falling near the Christmas holidays.
Though not financially successful to any great degree, the league felt compelled to assist the Eagle Valley Children’s Home in Carson Valley Nevada. Gifts of rocking chairs to help in care of the mentally retarded children was further supplemented with a record player and records which the artists were assured was of great comfort to these medically hopeless youngsters.
In a resort area where one might expect support for cultural efforts the art group met little encouragement from any organized City sponsorship, but from an unexpected source – a splendid opportunity did come. The Sahara-Tahoe Hotel [Horizon] offered a facility which became the Sahara-Tahoe Gallery, a long hallway connecting the main building with the hotel annex- the Pool Promenade. This was offered free of charge with the hanging devices for paintings being provided from league sources and being installed by Sahara carpenters. This gallery was opened August 15, 1968 and continued on a year-round basis, being staffed by volunteers from the league, under the management of a permanent gallery chairman. Paintings were changed monthly, or at the wish of the artists to rotate their works. All media was displayed with the exception of sculpture and pottery, needing cases to contain them. Varying styles of painting were exhibited, formerly more in oils, but with increasingly more watercolor and acrylic.
The local group, being in an area of more transient than in a non-resort community, has a certain fluctuation in the membership, but seemed to maintain a year round membership of sixty members. Membership for active artists wishing to show work in the Sahara Gallery had to be restricted to those living in the Tahoe Lake Basin area only due to space limitations. It was felt by those holding longest membership in the league that never has interest been so keen in up-grading every piece of art submitted to any viewing a constructive attitude for artistic growth.
In 1969, artist Paul Smith was instrumental in obtaining the pool promenade at the Sahara Casino (now Horizon) for the Tahoe Art League Gallery at no cost to the league. The gallery opened in July 1969.
In 1970, president Virginia De Steunder decided the art league should have a constitution and bylaws with a gallery policy, as the league was growing by leaps and bounds. Lane Sharman provided the Nevada Artists Association’s constitution and bylaws to use as a guideline. These have been revised as necessary to keep up with problems as they occurred.

Lifetime Members

Lifetime Member is the Tahoe Art League’s highest honor given to persons with 15+ years of continuous membership, and whose volunteerism has made a significant contribution for the advancement of the Tahoe Art League and the arts in our community.  We thank you!
Loretta Bookhammer President 1993/94, Outdoor Shows Director 1997-2006, and Hospitality Chair 1997-2006. Loretta
has contributed to every Art League event and occasion since joining and continues to be very active
participant in Outdoor Shows and on the Art Center Committee. Loretta is also the Art League’s
Liaison to the City of South Lake Tahoe.
Donna McRadu President 1986. Coordinator of many shows and activities during the 1980′s and 90′s. Donna is our
eldest active member and continues to attend Art League meetings and participate in shows.
Irma Roughton President 1971, 1997. Coordinated numerous Outdoor Shows, Paint Outs, and other Art League
activities. Irma has also been our effervescent hostess at the Art Expo.
Lois Wooldridge: A member since 1991, Lois has served the Art League in many capacities: as Vice President, Secretary, Newsletter Editor, and Outdoor Shows Chair.
She is a mentor for emerging artists, a hard worker on numerous Art League projects, and a constant leading presence at the Outdoor Shows.
Vern Lee: Vern Lee has been actively involved in the Tahoe Art League since 1995, serving as President in 1998 and 2001. He has always been eager to help and has participated readily in many of the Art League’s projects.
Elsie Brothers Elsie and her husband, Earl, joined the Tahoe Art League in 1988, and together they contributed greatly to the success of the organization. Elsie served as Chair for Demonstrations, Membership, Hospitality and Meetings.

Tahoe Art League Presidents

1965/66       Alice Tresidder
1967/68       Edythe Kirbo
1969            Penny Senior / Bernice Nelson
1969            Bernice Nelson
1970            Virginia De Steunder
1971             Irma Roughton
1972             William C. Lankeit / Bette Claire Douglas
1973             Helen Brower
1974             Myrna Spalding Vindum
1975             Lucille Franchini
1976             Shari Palmer / Libby O’Gieblyn
1977             Cecelia Kammerer
1978             Elaine Johnson
1979             Helen Brower
1980             Gene Turner / Nina Johnson
1981              Penny Senior / Catherine Hoover
1982              Stan Stevenson / Penny Senior
1983              Gene Turner
1984              Cecelia Kammerer
1985              Bernice Westberg / Donna McRadu
1986              Donna McRadu
1987              Ester Haldeman
1988              Robert Herman
1989/90        Robert Oden
1991/92         Earl Brothers
1993/94        Loretta Bookhammer
1995              Earl Brothers
1996              Evelyn Kehlor
1997              Irma Roughton
1998              Vernon Lee
1999              Ralph Lent
2000             Earl Brothers / Carol Jones
2001              Vernon Lee
2002/03         Shelby Kolstad
2004/05         Lois Loveless
2006              Sara Wolters
2007              Shelby Kolstad
2008              Shelby Kolstad / Dorothy Davis
2009              Robert Schimmel
2010              Robert Schimmel / Janette Reed-Lawson
2011              Janette Reed-Lawson
2012/13        Juanita Gibbs Brock


HISTORY OF THE ART BUILDING
by Shelby Kolstad, TAL Historian

The Art Building was formerly the Al Tahoe Post Office from 1950 – 1974 and was located on the corner of Hwy 50 and Al Tahoe Blvd. where Denny’s Restaurant is today.  In 1974 it was planned to be replaced with a larger facility. When the Art League heard the plans for its demolition, the Art League attempted to purchase the building from the Postal Service.  However, because the building was built using public funds, it could only go to another government agency at that time.  All efforts by the Art League was then shifted toward helping the City acquire the building from the Postal Service so it could be used as an Art Center for our community.  In 1975, the president of the Tahoe Art League, Myrna Vindum, was also the City Clerk at that time.  Myrna processed the necessary paperwork required for the Postal Service to donate the building to the City for the Art League’s use.  Following the City’s acquisition of the building, the Tahoe Art League was given a renewable 5 year lease and immediately began the necessary renovations to transform it into an Art Center.
The Art League obtained a transportation permit to its current location, and City Building Permit # SR-29606900 to make renovations.  The building’s current location at 3062 Lake Tahoe Blvd was specifically selected because it was land formerly owned by the Lake Valley Community Club (LVCC) until 1959 when they donated it specifically for “public education and recreation.”   Several Tahoe Art League founding members were also members of the LVCC and were pleased to see the development of an Art Center because it fulfilled the dual purpose of education and recreation.  The LVCC’s vision was for an eventual community recreational and cultural center on that land.
Tahoe Art League volunteers worked several months to renovate plumbing, electrical, roof, windows, ceiling, floors, walls, added a kitchen, two bathrooms and improved the exterior. TAL also added landscaping and sprinklers to the front.

By the end of 1975, all improvements were completed and the Tahoe Art League received a recorded proclamation “City of South Lake Tahoe Resolution #1975-10 Authorizing the Tahoe Art League full use of the Art Building for meetings, classes, exhibits, including the right to sell art, promote the sale of art and artistic products.”

Since 1964, the Tahoe Art League has continuously provided fine art experiences and art education to our community and to visitors to Lake Tahoe.