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8 P E R S P E C T I V E | J U L Y / A U G U S T 2 0 2 4 N E W S The Cinemagundi Club, One Hundred Years Young B Y T H O M A S W A L S H , P R O D U C T I O N D E S I G N E R The Cinemagundi Club was founded in May of 1924 by Hollywood's first generation of Art Direction and Craft pioneers. Quoting their constitution's preamble: "From all countries, artists and artisans foregather in Hollywood to serve the world with their talents through the Motion Picture. To the end that these creative minds may find friendliness and good fellowship and meet on common ground we do hereby create the Cinemagundi Club." Founding members of the Club included Art Directors Leo "K" Kuter, Ben Carré, William Cameron Menzies and Harry Oliver, who all shared a desire to recreate the fine-arts studio environments and experiences similar to those of the famous Salmagundi Club and Art Students League in New York, and Jules Adler's Atelier in Paris. These early Southern California immigrants bonded their creative and social alliances by holding sketching sessions in each other's homes prior to renting the basement of a church on Bronson Avenue. Art Director Ben Carré said that "we always had beautiful models who worked for the top photographers in Los Angeles, but who would discount their prices for our club's members." To help subsidize their efforts, they invited in art students and took turns teaching them. This income along with increased membership allowed them to eventually build their own Mediterranean revival style building. Their new home provided a welcoming and casual environment for the pursuit of life drawing, sketching, and painting sessions, as well as a salon where they could organize and critique their many en plein air painting excursions. Their membership was socially diverse. The members were all congenial colleagues who were working as Art Directors, Set Designers, Illustrators, matte painters, sketch artists, sculptors, modelmakers, scenic and portrait artists —or all the above, as they had no jurisdictional work restrictions at that time. Mostly male, there were also a few women guests, such as Art Directors Una Nixson Hopkins, Alice Moore, and Eli Benneche. For 13 years this was the members' private clubhouse, where they could socialize, network, and share work opportunities in what was then a non-union but quickly evolving motion picture workplace. The club had its own dedicated telephone with an understanding that members would call the clubhouse first when looking for someone to fill any job in or out of town. A A. THE PREAMBLE PAGE TO THE CINEMAGUNDI CONSTITUTION, SIGNED BY ITS FOUNDING MEMBERS.