Coming up with a theme for the 2018 Pageant of the Masters was a no-brainer, according to pageant director Diane Challis Davy. For her, it was all about celebrating big-number anniversaries — not only for the festival, which will mark its 85th season next year with a show titled “Under the Sun,” but also for the Laguna Art Museum, which celebrates its 100th birthday in 2018.
“The impetus was that the director of the Laguna Art Museum came to me and said, ‘We’re going to have our 100th anniversary. Wouldn’t it be great to create some tribute to the local artists?’ Of course I said yes. That’s what started the whole thing. We intend to honor all the artists who started the museum. There are so many of them.”
For many Laguna art lovers, those long-dead artists’ names are as familiar as movie stars: Edgar Alwin Payne, muralist and founder of the Laguna Beach Art Association; William Wendt, sometimes called the dean of Southern California artists; Anna Althea Hills, painter and founder of the Laguna Art Museum.
The pioneers’ works as well as many famous paintings and sculptures that have appeared through the years at the festival, will be part of the 2018 show, which like its predecessors, creates the works with a team of live models, set builders, costumers and makeup artists.
Davy spoke during the Festival of Arts’ annual membership meeting on Wednesday evening. Many veteran performers and backstage artists were honored for their years of service at the gathering. Davy noted that the museum and the festival share an old and indelible bond.
“The founding of the museum led directly to the first art festivals in Laguna, and then later the pageant, so we owe the museum a huge debt of gratitude. Without it, the pageant wouldn’t be here.”