Re: Possible San Francisco Fairmont Hotel Artifact
Several years ago I purchased a round glass (possible) tabletop from an antique store on Union Street in San Francisco. It measures 36″ in diameter and is 1/2″ thick. It depicts a bare legged & chested woman in art deco gold relief. She is wearing an Egyptian style headpiece and flowing waste cloth. Her legs are bent together at the knees and pointing to her left as she looks back over her right shoulder. Her arms are extended to the left and right with the left palm facing upward and right palm downward. It contains no identifying markings that might be used to trace its’ origin(s).
According to the store manager, the piece was being sold on consignment by the widow of a former Fairmont Hotel janitor. She claims that her husband retrieved two of the pieces from the trash where he found them after portions of the hotel had been renovated. She decided to sell one of the pieces and keep the second one for herself.
In an effort to confirm the provenance of the piece, I’ve spoken in person with several people at the Fairmont Hotel to no avail. That said, they could neither confirm nor deny that the piece was once a part of the hotel’s furnishings.
If anyone thinks they might be able to help in my effort to verify the origins of this piece, I would be extremely grateful. I’d be very happy to provide photos of the piece.
Margaret is credited with the Cirque Room murals on a number of websites and in the book: American Women Modernists, The Legacy of Robert Henri: 1910-1945.
Margaret did the gold leafing on the murals, she was hired by Esther to help out on them when the professional goldleafers were doing a terrible job, per this oral history from the Smithsonian. But Esther was seen as the main artist on them, and in a photograph at the time, she posed under the murals in the Cirque alone, this photo is in my book “Art Deco San Francisco.” Between these primary sources, a photo of the time, plus this oral history with Helen and Margaret, I would still credit Esther alone as the artist. (does Diego Rivera credit all the workers on his murals? No they don’t get much credit) But yes Margaret did a workman-like job on the Cirque gold leafing, according to the oral history interview . https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-helen-and-margaret-bruton-11725#transcript
Thank you very much for your information. Since posting my question, I came across the 2011 case report (30 pages) for listing the Bruton family home in Alameda as an historic monument. It also says that Esther did the Cirque murals. The report contains many details about the Brutons. No doubt you are familiar with the report, but if not, I could send you the pdf. Jim
Hi thanks for reading. An article in the San Francisco News about the Cirque Room and the murals when it opened in 1935 by art critic Junius Cravens credits only Esther for the murals. The Cirque room also had a cocktail named after her called the Ecky which was her nickname, and there was a photo of Esther alone in the Fairmont Hotel archives posing with the completed murals. This photo is on page 181 of my book. Her sisters are not credited officially. Margaret did work on the gold leafing at the end of the project, in a backup capacity when the official gold leafers did a poor job, but she was not officially on the project. Her sisters discuss their back-up roles on an as needed basis with each other in their oral history in the Smithsonian Archives: http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-helen-and-margaret-bruton-11725
What evidence is there that the Cirque Room murals were painted only by Esther, and not also her sisters?
Timothy Pflueger Blog 
3/8/2019
Re: Possible San Francisco Fairmont Hotel Artifact
Several years ago I purchased a round glass (possible) tabletop from an antique store on Union Street in San Francisco. It measures 36″ in diameter and is 1/2″ thick. It depicts a bare legged & chested woman in art deco gold relief. She is wearing an Egyptian style headpiece and flowing waste cloth. Her legs are bent together at the knees and pointing to her left as she looks back over her right shoulder. Her arms are extended to the left and right with the left palm facing upward and right palm downward. It contains no identifying markings that might be used to trace its’ origin(s).
According to the store manager, the piece was being sold on consignment by the widow of a former Fairmont Hotel janitor. She claims that her husband retrieved two of the pieces from the trash where he found them after portions of the hotel had been renovated. She decided to sell one of the pieces and keep the second one for herself.
In an effort to confirm the provenance of the piece, I’ve spoken in person with several people at the Fairmont Hotel to no avail. That said, they could neither confirm nor deny that the piece was once a part of the hotel’s furnishings.
If anyone thinks they might be able to help in my effort to verify the origins of this piece, I would be extremely grateful. I’d be very happy to provide photos of the piece.
Thank you very much,
Gerry Schmidt
415-595-1475
afiscnslt@yahoo.com
Margaret is credited with the Cirque Room murals on a number of websites and in the book: American Women Modernists, The Legacy of Robert Henri: 1910-1945.
Margaret did the gold leafing on the murals, she was hired by Esther to help out on them when the professional goldleafers were doing a terrible job, per this oral history from the Smithsonian. But Esther was seen as the main artist on them, and in a photograph at the time, she posed under the murals in the Cirque alone, this photo is in my book “Art Deco San Francisco.” Between these primary sources, a photo of the time, plus this oral history with Helen and Margaret, I would still credit Esther alone as the artist. (does Diego Rivera credit all the workers on his murals? No they don’t get much credit) But yes Margaret did a workman-like job on the Cirque gold leafing, according to the oral history interview . https://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-helen-and-margaret-bruton-11725#transcript
Thank you very much for your information. Since posting my question, I came across the 2011 case report (30 pages) for listing the Bruton family home in Alameda as an historic monument. It also says that Esther did the Cirque murals. The report contains many details about the Brutons. No doubt you are familiar with the report, but if not, I could send you the pdf. Jim
Hi thanks for reading. An article in the San Francisco News about the Cirque Room and the murals when it opened in 1935 by art critic Junius Cravens credits only Esther for the murals. The Cirque room also had a cocktail named after her called the Ecky which was her nickname, and there was a photo of Esther alone in the Fairmont Hotel archives posing with the completed murals. This photo is on page 181 of my book. Her sisters are not credited officially. Margaret did work on the gold leafing at the end of the project, in a backup capacity when the official gold leafers did a poor job, but she was not officially on the project. Her sisters discuss their back-up roles on an as needed basis with each other in their oral history in the Smithsonian Archives: http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/interviews/oral-history-interview-helen-and-margaret-bruton-11725
What evidence is there that the Cirque Room murals were painted only by Esther, and not also her sisters?