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| Maurice Del Mué, Forest Knolls, Marin County, 1939. |
Paris-born Marin County artist Maurice August Del Mué (1875-1955) emigrated to San Francisco when he was seven, and died in at Ross Hospital in Marin County, January, 24, 1955 after a long illness. He was 79. I was barely three.
Besides sharing a birthday, November 24, and a town in common, Forest Knolls, I have a deep connection with Del Mué as he painted the central WPA mural at our Lagunitas school, it graces the hall of the old school office and was fully restored. When we had Picture Day at school, we’d line up along the mural waiting our turn. I was always fascinated by it. It was a fixture of my childhood.
Del Mué painted other murals at College of Marin Student Union, in Kentfield, at Tamalpais High School, in Mill Valley, and at the Officer’s Club at Hamilton Airfield in Novato. Painter Tom Wood says the The 38 x 8 foot mural “The Golden Hills of Marin” at Tamalpais High School, was restored. The College of Marin mural was saved; not restored, but in good shape; it hangs informally in one of the science rooms at COM. The Hamilton mural has never been found.
Maurice lived in a small cabin on Resaca Ave., I think near Ron Thelin’s shack above the Nielsen’s old place. So it’s quite probable my family knew him. Tom Wood said he lived in that house for seven years, and another friend, Claudia Ward said she grew up in that house. The Wards incorporated the art studio when they remodeled their house. On Facebook, Everett Basset posted, “I have del Mue’s property now with a nice view of the falls in the other direction. I found some of his sketches and paintings rolled up in the walls.” Imagine!
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| Photo by Everett Bassett used with permission, 2020 |
Michael Toivonen, who posted the Del Mué painting of Forest Knolls on Facebook, and got me into this mess, salvaged a small pantry door from Del Mué’s house, he plans to mount the giclée print on it. Michael was friends with the former owner, and spent quite a bit of time working on the cabin. He said his friend found old paint tubes scattered on the hillside, Del Mué’s castoffs.
