Hugo Reid Finds a New Home

The Hugo Reid Family received an SOS! Conservation Treatment Award in 1999 and has traveled an interesting road to its conservation—literally! The sculpture was originally owned by Los Angeles County, but after the CTA award it was donated to the City of Arcadia on condition that the city pay for its move from Arcadia County Park. It was moved on May 1, 2003.

Preston L. Prescott created the sculpture in 1937 through the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration. The life-size sculpture depicts Hugo Reid, a Scottish immigrant, his wife Victoria, two of her children, and a dog, with additional figures on the base representing early nineteenth-century life in California: an ox and cart, horses and riders, and Native Americans.

The sculpture was in sad shape after so many years, with noses and other details missing, including the dog's entire head. To ready the sculpture for its journey, workers had to excavate its footing, which reached about 5 feet below ground. It was then lifted onto the back of a semi trailer and moved to the Ruth and Charles Gilb Arcadia Historical Museum. After a night in the parking lot, the sculpture was lowered by crane into its new location. It is estimated the sculpture weighs as much as 40,000 pounds.

Conservation treatment is being performed by Silverlake Conservation, LLC. First, they cleaned the sculpture. Artist Mark Goena sculpted a new head for the dog, from which a cast was made. By March 8, 2004, the head was attached, surfaces losses were filled with a cementitious repair mortar, and rebar and wire were placed to sculpt the dog's leg. Conservation treatment continues—stay tuned!

Hugo Reid was a businessman and trader in Alta California and became a Mexican citizen in 1837. He married Bartolomea, a Gabrieleno woman who was raised at Mission San Gabriel, and adopted her four children. Bartolomea changed her name to Victoria, and in 1940 the couple became the first private owners of Rancho Santa Anita through a Mexican land grant. With Victoria supplying much of the information, Hugo wrote a series of 22 essays on the culture of Native Americans in the Los Angeles area. These articles were published in the Los Angeles Star and are considered the most thorough and comprehensive ethnographic portrait of the area's Native Americans.

Photos: Top, the sculpture en route to its new home. Middle, a conservator cleaning the sculpture. Bottom, the new dog's head. Photos courtesy the Ruth and Charles Gilb Arcadia Historical Museum.