Lucile Lloyd, also known as Lucile Lloyd Brown, Lucila Lloyd Nulty (August 28, 1894 – February 25, 1941) was an American muralist, illustrator, and decorative painter. In 1937, Lloyd worked with the Works Progress Administration's Federal Arts Project to paint three murals in the assembly room in the state building in Los Angeles, California.
Early life Lloyd was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her parents were Mary Alice (Holcomb) and Harry Kensington Lloyd. She apprenticed in her father's stained-glass and textile design studio. Her English grandfather was a textile designer during the Arts and Crafts movement.California State Senate Rules Committee, 1992, pg 14
She attended school at the Woman's Art School at Cooper Union in New York City and won two scholarships to the Art Students League of New York. While at Cooper Union she studied with Frank Fairbanks, Frederick Dielman, Robert Tyland, and Joseph C. Chase.Los Angeles Times, Arther Millier 1931 pg B12 She was the first woman to work in the drafting room of architect Bertram G. Goodhue and painted her first mural decoration at the age of twenty.
In 1919 Lloyd married Addison Brown II, son of Addison Brown. They had one child, Addison Brown III.
Career Lloyd moved with her husband and son to California in 1919. She opened a studio, taught classes and took the role of directorship of the Stickney Memorial Art School in Pasadena.California Rules, 1992, p. 14 Lloyd worked as a muralist and decorator and also produced bookplates, cartoons, logos, water color, charcoal, architectural renderings and stained-glass designs. She worked with many well-known architectural firms, including: Howard Hewitt; Marsh, Smith, and Powell; Carleton Monroe Wilson; and, the West Coast office of Bertram Goodhue.
In 1923, Lloyd contributed an article in the December issue of California Southland entitled "The Relationship Between Architecture and Decoration", in which she acknowledges that while the architect has the vision, it is the interior specialist that brings together the decorative elements that complete a space. Lloyd mentions the need for time to research and create full scale working drawings as well as full color renderings. She goes on to stress that muralists such as herself be included from the onset of a project. "Bringing in an artist at the last minute can lead to a displeased client". "If the client could only be persuaded to put the money he spends, later, on landscapes or genre paintings which do not go with his house, into one good ceiling for over-mantel, which becomes a part of the architecture of his home, he would be better satisfied in the end." She closed the article by saying that while mural artists "speak the language of trade painters, murals artist are not to be confused with 'house painters'".California Southland, December 1923, p. 14.
In 1925, her spouse Addison Brown II divorced her and moved with their two-year-old child back to the East Coast.California Rules, p. 14.
The Madonna of the Covered Wagon (1928) was a large mural completed at a middle school in south Pasadena. The scene recalls a journey made by thousands of pioneer families as they came west during the 1800s. While the work was considered by some contemporary critics as saccharine, it is typical of the Illustrators School which was the style of her time. Los Angeles Times art critic Arthur Millier gave the work high praise, saying, "her delightful mural combines humor and sentiment in delightful proportions.Los Angeles Times, "Take Your Olympic Guest on Mural Painting Tour", May 29, 1932, pg. B9
Lloyd was one of six artists who submitted drawings for the murals at Griffith Observatory. She was a member of the California Art Club, Women Painters of the West, American Bookplate Society and the California State Historical Association.
She married her second husband Niel McNulty in 1936; he died in 1939.
Death Lucile Lloyd died by suicide in February 1941, "overcome by gas".
Commissioned artwork +Select list of commissioned artworkYearNameLocationNotes1916Music room ceiling muralsJohn E. Aldred Estate, Glen Cove, New YorkA Bertam Goodhue architecture project.1917Mural on the great hall ceilingPhilip W. Henry house in Scarborough, New YorkA Bertam Goodhue architecture project.1923'Episodes of Beowulf'Hanson House, Flintridge, California1925Murals and ceiling beamsFirst Baptist Church Pasadena, Pasadena, California1928Madonna of the covered Wagon, mural on the proscenium of the auditoriumSouth Pasadena Junior High (now known as South Pasadena Middle School), Pasadena, CaliforniaLloyd, under the auspices of the architectural firm of Marsh, Smith, Powell, created the 39" X 7" foot oil painting. The Madonna of the Covered Wagon was executed on canvas at the artist's studio and installed in the proscenium of the auditorium after completion." Dedication" Foothill Review, October 26, 1928 p. 1 The scene recalls a journey made by thousands of pioneer families as they came West during the 1800s. The sheer cliffs of El Capitan are shown on the right rising high about the banks of the Merced River.1929Ceilings; First Methodist Episcopal ChurchSanta Ana, California1929Children's roomsIves and Warren Mortuary, Pasadena, California1930Kindergarten FriezeStoneman Elementary School, San Marino, CaliforniaMural was preserved in 1997 by Nathan Zakheim, son of muralist, Bernard Zakheim.1930Ceilings and muralFirst Baptist Church Chapel, Pasadena, California1930Administration Building muralsSouth Pasadena Schools, California1930South Pasadena Public LibraryPasadena, California1930Auditorium ceilingSierra Madre Grade School, Sierra Madre, California1930Newport Harbor Union High School, Newport Beach, California1931CeilingsHollywood Citizen News building, Hollywood, CaliforniaVincent, Roger (April 2, 2014) "Art deco Hollywood Citizen News building is sold" Los Angeles Times1931AuditoriumEl Centro Elementary School, South Pasadena, California1931FacadeAverill-Morgan Company, Hollywood, California1931AuditoriumLong Beach Polytechnic High School, Long Beach, California1931InteriorsMannings Restaurant, Long Beach, California1931Study Hall ceilingExcelsior Union High School, Norwalk, California1931Ceilings and porch87th Street Elementary School (Manchester Ave Elementary School), Los Angeles, California1931CelingsPacific Colony (later Lanterman Developmental Center), Spadra, California1931Murals, suitesDr. I. Eugene Gould, Pasadena, California1932Three wall panelsHollywood National Bank1932Ceiling and MuralsHotel Miramar, Santa Monica, California1932Eagle Rock High School1932AltarpieceSt. Mary of the Angels Anglican Church, Hollywood1932Virgil Junior High, Los Angeles, California1932Mural 'Peter Pan'East Whittier Middle School, East Whittier, California1932Gymnasium ceilingFoshay Junior High School, Los Angeles, California1933Library ceilingHollywood High School, Los Angeles, California1933Border frames on murals, main murals by Dean CornwellLibrary Rotunda, Los Angeles Central Library, Los Angeles, California1933La Chappelle Residence, Beverley Hills, California1933InteriorsManning's Restaurant, Los Angeles, California1934Third floor remodelBroadway Department Store, Los Angeles, California1934EntranceJeweler's Exchange Building, Los Angeles, California1936Windowsmausoleum at Inglewood Cemetery, Inglewood, California1937Three murals, California's NameAssembly Room, State Building, Los Angeles, California The mural, titled "California's Name", was dedicated on October 16, 1937, at the Los Angeles State Building at 217 West First Street on the Civic Center, hung in an Assembly room. The middle is approximately 16×13 ft and side panels 6.5×13 ft. Since 1992, these murals now reside in the Burton Hearing Room, California State Capitol, Sacramento, California. The murals were moved after the original site was damaged in the 1971 San Fernando earthquake.
Publications A list of articles and essays penned by Lucile Lloyd about her mural work. YearArticle titlePublicationNotes1941Does the Sun Make the Wind?undatedHow A Plane Flies1940Plymouth Weaving Stunts1940Textiles1940Travel By Water1928South Pasadena Junior Highschool1933St. Mary of the Angeles Church1928Stoneman Elementary School
References
"California's Name" - Three WPA sponsored Murals by Lucile Lloyd - published by California State Senate Rules Committee - January, 1992
External links Lucile Lloyd papers, 1916-1941 from the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution A Life In Murals Lucile Lloyd · Lucile Lloyd: A Life in Murals · UCSB ADC Omeka Picturing California's History Picturing California's History · Lucile Lloyd: A Life in Murals · UCSB ADC Omeka