The creative’s cubicle | Art you can bank on

You may or may not have heard of Millard Sheets, but if you’ve been to California, you’ve undoubtedly seen his work.

Beginning in the 1950s and spanning through most of his career, Sheets designed the buildings, murals and accompanying artistic decoration (often in collaboration with Denis O’Connor and Susan Hertel), for the offices of Home Savings of America throughout California. The company had a unique tradition of incorporating public art in its branch offices.

Although the bank became obsolete in 1999 through its acquisition by Washington Mutual, in its heyday, Home Savings of America was California’s premiere savings and loan institution. Most of its original branch buildings and their accompanying Sheets murals still exist today, like this one, located at the historic intersection of Sunset and Vine in Hollywood:

But public art wasn’t Millard Sheets’ only impact on Southern California. In 1953 he became director of Otis College of Art and Design, and while in that position created the new official seal for the County of Los Angeles.

Today, the original building that housed the Millard Sheets design studio still remains. My husband and I recently visited the site, located in Claremont, California to tour the grounds. Now a dentist’s office, the original sign and exterior murals still remain in tact and exemplify Sheets’ design aesthetic in its simplest form.

Millard Sheets (1907–1989)
Studio Photos: Sheharazad and Ron Fleming
Sunset and Vine Photos: Courtesy of Public Art in Los Angeles