Thursday, May 9, 2013

 The Chinese Garden at the Huntington Library in Pasadena. Today Minche and I went to the luncheon meeting of the Scripps College Fine Arts Foundation (always a delight to have lunch in the Hampton Room of Malott Commons overlooking the beautiful quadrangle and the San Gabriel Mountains beyond). Susie Moser, a Scripps alumna, gave a presentation on Phase II of the construction of the Chinese Garden at the Huntington Library. She is the vice president for fundraising behind the project and she had many fascinating tales to tell about working with the Chinese government and many wealthy Chinese people in both California and China to fund the project. (Minche both speaks and reads Mandarin and could read both sides of the program cards!). A lot of fun and very illuminating because the two societies will be drawing ever closer together in the future.

Scripps College Fine Arts Foundation. Minche and I went to the luncheon meeting of the Fine Arts Foundation where we were able to purchase a half dozen paintings from the estate of Corinne Gallman, who served as president of the foundation for nine years over about four decades. Paul's mother Helen served as a co-president with Corinne in the 1990s and Paul served as co-president with her 2008-2010. She died this past January in her home in Claremont. Overall, the Foundation has donated more than $11,000 to the Fine Arts Foundation scholarship fund with proceeds from Corinne's art collection. And we revere Corinne's fine taste and rollicking good humor. One of the grande dames of Claremont.