Events › Legion of Honor Turns 100: An Art Talk

2024 marks the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Legion of Honor. It is home to one of the world’s outstanding collections of Rodin sculpture and European art. The Legion of Honor owes its existence to the vision of enterprising San Franciscan Alma de Bretteville Spreckels, who set out to build a museum to showcase French art. She dedicated it to the California men who died in France during World War I. This talk tells the fascinating story of how the museum was modeled after the Legion of Honor in Paris and would come to be built on a hill with a breathtaking view of the San Francisco Bay.

Featuring a treasure trove of historic images, the talk highlights some of the building’s beautiful original architectural features as well as renovations of the past 100 years. The Legion of Honor’s moving inaugural ceremonies of 1924 and the art objects that were on display in the galleries on opening day will also be discussed in this exploration of an important chapter of San Francisco history.

About the Speaker

Virginia Ernster, a docent with the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, will be the speaker.

Thanks to the Friends of Saratoga Libraries for sponsoring this program.

Photo:

Title: California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, California
Creator(s): Highsmith, Carol M., 1946-, photographer
Date Created/Published: [between 1980 and 2006]

https://www.loc.gov/pictures/i...

Note: This virtual program will be conducted with Zoom. A Zoom link will be sent via email to all registrants before the event. Please check the spelling of your email to ensure that you receive the link. Misspelled email addresses are most often the reason why registrants do not receive a link. If you are not familiar with Zoom, please review the following documents:

Getting Started with Zoom

Zoom technical requirement

A Zoom link will be sent a day or two before the event.