Print of the Day!! Wed, Aug 30, 2023 is by printmaker Juliette Steele (1909-1980): "Playland" (San Francisco), lithograph, ca 1940, 12/50.

Print of the Day!! Wednesday, August 30, 2023. California Surrealist printmaker Juliette Steele (1909-1980). Check out our virtual booth at the Satellite Print Fair's on-line website: OnPaper.art: https://onpaper.art/the-annex-galleries ?

"Playland" (San Francisco) is a lithograph, done around 1940 by California printmaker Juliette Steele ( 1909-1980). The image measures 8 x 12 inches. This impression is pencil signed, titled, and editioned "12/50 by the artist in the lower margin. It was printed by the artist and assistants on a sheet of ivory wove Warrens Oldestyle paper that measures 10-7/8 x 14 inches. The gallery inventory number for this work is 13504. This Modernist lithograph by California printmaker Juliette Steele is available from the gallery for $400.00. Contact the gallery with any questions you might have, including condition. Shipping costs will be discussed. California residents will have sales tax added. Out of state residents may be responsible for use tax, depending on state law.

"Playland" is a Modernist lithograph done right as the WPA was ending in California.

In this early 1940s lithograph, Juliette Steele depicts an afternoon at San Francisco's Playland-at-the-Beach, a popular 10-acre park that once ran alongside Ocean Beach on Highway 1, just north of Golden Gate Park. The property's storied history culminated in the park's demolition in the early 1970s, making way for real estate developers. In this image, Steele preserves a nearly forgetten slice of San Francisco's blue-collar history.

The modern history of the sandy stretch of property, which runs between the Cliff House and the Dutch windmills of the Park, began as a shantytown known as Mooneyville-by-the-Sea. Inhabited by squatters protesting the encroachment of monied railroad companies, they were forced out by the city's Park Commissioner, Frank Pixley, who then sold it to developers. There, they built the first iteration of the amusement park, Ocean Beach Pavilion. Over time, the park added to its many features and, in 1926, it was taken over by George Whitney, the "Barnum of the Golden Gate".

His purchase came just before the Great Depression. When the economic downturn took hold of the city, Whitney bought out the struggling concessionaires and expanded his empire to include the Beach Chalet and Sutro Baths. To the amusement park he added three blocks of entertainment, including a Funhouse, a diving bell, a midway of games and vendors, photobooths, and roller coasters. In time, it would become the birthplace of the perennial favorite: the 'It's-It' ice cream sandwich.

Playland would be a boon to the working class citizens of San Francisco as they struggled through the Depression and then World War II. Families of all economic situations could enjoy themselves with a ride on the Big Dipper roller coaster and a 40 cent corn dog. But By the 1960s the park was run down. Though many people rallied to keep it going, it finally shut down in 1972, to be quickly bought up and demolished. Upon it's closure, the park would be eulogized by famed San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen in an article titled "We'll Never Go There Anymore".

To purchase this work, see other works, or read a biography for Juliette Steele use this link to our website: https://www.annexgalleries.com/inventory/artist/2250/Steele/Juliette

Use this link to view our complete inventory on our website: https://www.annexgalleries.com/inventory?q=