Content Description

One (1) digital reconstruction of Rancheros Visitadores Mural from twelve (12) photographic records. Donor loaned framed artwork for research, scanning, reconstruction, and preservation by Archivist Chris Ervin.

Acquisition Type

Donation

Provenance

Donation of Michael Crookston. Mr. Crookston loaned his framed, twelve-panel mural to the Gledhill Library for research, scanning, digital reconstruction, and preservation. Mr. Crookston bought the photos at a yard sale in 1984. They had been rolled around the handle of a shovel and held in place with twine. He slowly and carefully flattened them over time, eventually having them professionally matted and framed in three frames with each frame holding four panels. Archivist Chris Ervin carefully removed the 12 panels from the frames and scanned each at high resolution. Inspection of the original panels revealed them to be black and white photographs toned by age. The 12 panels were reunited into a single 600 dpi PSB digital mural in Photoshop, 730 MB in size. A reduced 200 dpi TIF file of 40 MB was created from the larger file. Both files were uploaded to Preservica for digital preservation. Preservica automatically generated a 9 MB JPG for presentation. The panels were returned to their frames and the loan in its entirety returned to Mr. Crookston on 2021-03-03. Los Rancheros Vistadores Mural was painted by William Spencer Bagdatopolous (1888-1965). Among the many caricatured Rancheros in the work and named in the banner, the artist depicted himself in the center making a sketch using Ed Borein's back as an easel. A third artist, Joe de Yong, is also depicted in the mural. Photographic evidence from the 1930s depicts the mural located over a bar in a restaurant with cowhide uphostered booths and bar stools. The Rancheros bought both the Covarrubias and Historic Adobes in 1938 for $15,000 and began using them in 1947 when the buildings were no longer needed to support the war effort. The finished mural was moved into the Covarrubias and is remembered as having been in color and 90 feet in length. The mural was displayed in the Covarrubias until the 1990s when the Rancheros Visitadores moved their base of operations to the Santa Ynez Valley. Per SBHM President Bill Reynolds, the original was painted around 1935 by Bagdatopolous as a “favor to Ed Borein" and is currently (2021) located at Janeway Ranch.

Restrictions Apply

No