Current & Upcoming Exhibitions

LJHS exhibitions are sponsored in part by ArtWorks San Diego

Recognized for his work in Los Angeles and Palm Springs, it is not widely known that between 1934 and 2007, world-renowned architectural photographer Julius Shulman (1910 – 2009) shot over 200 projects in San Diego.  His clients were architects, designers, newspapers, book and magazine publishers, and construction companies as well as developers, and included notable San Diego architects Lloyd Ruocco, Sim Bruce Richards, Henry Hester, and Frederick Liebhardt. Shulman’s work, spanning several decades, documented the region’s evolving 20^th century architectural landscape, and he played an instrumental role in sharing California’s unique post-War, mid-century modernism with an international audience. Through a large number of films, publications, and exhibitions, focused largely on his work in Palm Springs and Los Angeles for architects Frank Lloyd Wright, Pierre Koenig, Charles Eames, and Richard Neutra, interest in Shulman’s work continues to this day. Because his images of San Diego have not been widely shared or published, this unprecedented exhibition, showcasing both vintage and contemporary prints of his photography, will introduce audiences to Julius Shulman’s projects in La Jolla alongside ephemera that contextualize this historically significant work. Curated by Keith York.

Major funding for this exhibition generously provided by Barbara Freeman, IS Architecture, and Modern San Diego, with additional support from Nick and Lamya Agelidis, James and Barbara Alcorn, Joan and Gary Gand, Elizabeth Courtiér | Willis Allen Real Estate, and ArtWorks San Diego.

Concurrently, at the San Diego Public Library – Downtown Gallery Julius Shulman: Modern San Diego

The St. James GALLERY by-the-Sea, located at St. James by-the-Sea Episcopal Church, 743 Prospect Street, La Jolla, will present an exhibition of photographs of San Diego's Mid-Century Modern Places of Worship from September 27 to October 27, 2019. The exhibition features the work of well-known photographers Darren Bradley and George Lyons and a section of photographs by members of San Diego photography program Outside the Lens. In addition, there will be a selection from entries in a juried photography contest sponsored by St. James by-the-Sea. There will be an Opening Day showing with light refreshments on Friday, September 27th from 5:30 to 7:30 pm, in conjunction with the opening of the Shulman Exhibition at La Jolla Historical Society.

Harry Crosby moved to La Jolla as a boy in 1935.  In the 1950s, he had 12-year career as a science teacher at La Jolla High School, then pursued a second career in photography and history.  One of his early assignments was to photograph Tijuana, where he discovered and recorded the vibrant life of the city and neighborhoods beyond common tourist areas.  The rich photographic images he created of Tijuana’s urban and human landscapes chronicles community life and daily events. Tijuana 1964: the Photography of Harry Crosby presents an exhibition of original photographs from the period, crossing the international border to explore the shops, arcades, street vendors, fashions, vehicles, curios, churches, cemeteries, and diverse urban neighborhoods of the bustling Mexican city more than a half-century ago.  Curated by Melanie Showalter.

Funding for this exhibition generously provided by Sandy and Dave Erickson, Margie and John H. Warner Jr., the Florence Riford Fund of the San Diego Foundation, and ArtWorks San Diego.

The Society is immensely grateful for loans from the photographic collection and for the support of the Instituto Municipal de Arte y Cultura (IMAC), the Museo de Historia de Tijuana (MUHTi), and the Archivo Histórico de Tijuana (AHT); for additional materials from the Crosby Baja Collection at the University of California, San Diego; and for the support of the Institute for Regional Studies of the Californias at San Diego State University.

Tijuana 1964: The Photography of Harry Crosby is part of the celebration of the 140th Anniversary of the Mexican Consulate in San Diego.  The Consulate has served for a century and a half to create connections and intersections for our countries, building bridges between people, cultures, and economies. Congratulations to Consul General Carlos González-Gutiérrez and the staff at the Mexican Consulate in San Diego!