Old Trapper's Lodge, (sculpture).

Old Trapper's Lodge, (sculpture).

Ehn, John, 1897-1981, sculptor.

Old Trapper's Lodge, (sculpture).

Begun in 1941 or 1945. Dedicated Jan. 1969.

Digital Reference:

Painted concrete, glass, wood.

Individual figures approx. H. 3-14 ft.

(On historic marker plaque:) OLD TRAPPER'S LODGE/OLD TRAPPER'S LODGE IS ONE OF CALIFORNIA'S/REMARKABLE TWENTIETH CENTURY FOLK ART/ENVIRONMENTS. IT REPRESENTS THE LIFE WORK OF/JOHN EHN, (1897-1981), A SELF-TAUGHT ARTIST WHO/WISHED TO PASS ON A SENSE OF THE OLD WEST,/DERIVED FROM PERSONAL EXPERIENCES, MYTHS,/AND TALL TALES. FROM 1951 TO 1981, USING HIS FAMILY/AS MODELS, AND INCORPORATING MEMORABILIA. THE/"OLD TRAPPER" FOLLOWED HIS DREAMS AND VISIONS/TO CREATE THE LODGE AND ITS "BOOT HILL"./CALIFORNIA REGISTERED/HISTORICAL LANDMARK NO. 989/PLAQUE PLACED BY THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF PARKS/AND RECREATION IN COOPERATION WITH SAVING AND/PRESERVATION ARTS AND CULTURAL ENVIRONMENTS, A/NON-PROFIT EDUCATIONAL CORPORATION, MARCH 25, 1985. unsigned

Site installation of folk art, including 16 figures, western and pioneer relics, a mock "Boot Hill" with wooden grave markers inscribed with humorous epitaphs and other elements. A concrete barbeque pit inset with colored rocks and bits of glass and a wooden totem pole are also part of the installation. The figures are made of cement and are brightly painted. Several of the figures are portraits of the artist's children. Figures include two women in brightly colored dresses sitting on a bench, a bearded cowboy, a pirate-like figure with a bright red coat, a woman being kidnapped by an Indian, two men fighting with blood running down their shoulders and a man in blue shirt and brown trousers lying dead in a grave.

Portrait female -- Farish, Rosemarie

Figure group -- Family -- Mother & Child

Figure male -- Full length

Figure female -- Full length

State of Being -- Evil -- Crime

State of Being -- Death

Architecture -- Monument -- Gravestone

Ethnic -- Indian

Outdoor Sculpture -- California -- Woodland Hills

Administered by Pierce College, Art Department, 6201 Winnetka Avenue, Woodland Hills, California 91367

Located Pierce College, 6201 Winnetka Avenue, Woodland Hills, California

Formerly located Old Trapper's Lodge, Sun Valley, California 1945-1988.

The installation was begun by the artist in the 1940's and was created over a period of 30 years around the yard of a motel. When the motel was sold, the installation was moved to the campus of Pierce College. The installation is listed on the California Registry of Historical Landmarks. The figures were restored in 1994 by Jose Castaneda. IAS files contain copy of related article from Los Angeles Times, Dec. 22, 1994; and excerpts from Lawson and Rufus' "America Off the Wall: The West Coast", New York: John Wiley & Sons, pg. 46-47. IAS files contain excerpt from Seymour Rosen's "In Celebration of Ourselves", San Francisco: California Living Book in cooperation with San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 1979.

Save Outdoor Sculpture, California survey, 1994.

The information provided about this artwork was compiled as part of the Smithsonian American Art Museum's Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture database, designed to provide descriptive and location information on artworks by American artists in public and private collections worldwide.

Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture, Smithsonian American Art Museum, P.O. Box 37012, MRC 970, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012

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