Home → About UCMP → UCMP History → William Gordon Huff
Abbreviations: Tim Huff and the Huff Family Archives, Laytonville, CA HFA; Antonia Huff Rodrigues, Santa Rosa, CA (all photographed by Dave Strauss) AHR; University of California Museum of Paleontology (UCMP) Archives, Berkeley, CA UA; Ray Strong Family Papers, Upper Lake, CA RSFP
1Charles L. Camp, "California mosasaurs," Memoirs of the University of California 13 (1942), 68 pp. A photograph of the mosasaur drawing is in the UA. Camp later discovered that the name Kolposaurus had already been assigned to a nothosaur, so he changed the name of the mosasaur to Plotosaurus in 1951.
2Samuel P. Welles, "Elasmosaurid plesiosaurs with descriptions of new material from California and Colorado," Memoirs of the University of California 13 (1943), pp. 125–254.
3Charles Camp, letter to Annie Alexander, 8 Apr 1943, Charles Lewis Camp Papers, correspondence 1936-1996, box 1, UA.
1Bryan O. Wilson (Superintendent, Contra Costa County Schools, Martinez, CA), letter to Mr. A.E. Henning (Chief, Division of Beaches and Parks, Department of Natural Resources, State Building No. 1, Sacramento, CA), 17 Feb 1948, HFA. Wilson wrote:
Upon the evening of February 10 a group of interested citizens met in my office to discuss the possibility of being of assistance in the planning and the completion of Mt. Diablo State Park Museum Project. … As advisors, we invited Mr. Ray Strong and Mr. William G. Huff because they had been active in the initial planning of the project. … They [all those present at the meeting] asked me to address this letter to you asking you what we can do to be of service. I am enclosing copies of materials and plans that were set up several years ago. Mr. Huff and Mr. Strong volunteered to review materials that have been stored and express judgement as to what repairs are needed and what materials should be discarded should you desire such an estimate. In short, we are interested in the Mt. Diablo Museum and want to help in any way that we can in its development.
Huff and Strong wanted to emphasize the geology of Mt. Diablo and the prehistoric life that once inhabited the area with a geologic cross-section, dioramas, murals, specimens and illustrations, but they would also include exhibits on the flora and fauna (past and present), Native Americans, Spanish discovery and settlement, exploration, coal mining and more.
In a 26 Feb 1948 letter (HFA), Henning responded to the above:
You are no doubt aware that the building in which we propose to house this museum must be waterproofed and made structurally sound before we can install any museum materials. Funds are available for this purpose and these funds have been turned over to the State Architect's Office and he is now charged with the necessary construction work. When, however, he will get around to this is problematical since his office is seriously handicapped due to insufficient help. I feel, however, that it would be a waste of time and effort to check the material now in storage and then probably be forced to again store it because the building had not been completed for its installation. I feel that after the building has been properly repaired is the time when we should carry on the program which you suggest, and I will be happy to keep you informed as to when that particular time arrives.
In a 10 Mar 1949 letter (HFA), from Ray Strong to Huff, Strong referenced their third attempt to assist with the Mt. Diablo Museum: "Old devil Mountain [Mt. Diablo] sort of seasonally erupts and gives forth a spring promise. This will be the third time, perhaps this will be it. I hope so."
1Charles L. Camp, Earth Song: A Prologue to History (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1952), 127 pp.
1Field note excerpts and timing of events from Charles Camp's 1957 field notes, UA.
2 Camp later realized that these dimensions were too large. In his 8 Aug 1967 field notes (UA), he wrote "Our restoration at Park is wrong in being (1) too long by about 15-18 feet. (2) too long tail (3) too long body. (3) [sic] Body too deep. This was a much shorter bodied form than Cymbospondylus and thicker bodied, shorter tail than Cymbo. also."
1Ray Strong discussed aspects of the work required in at least five letters dating between Sep 1961 and Jun 1962, RSFP. In one letter, dated 13 Nov 1961, Ray wrote "We, Dr. Camp and I finished the third scale model in as many weeks for promotional work for a shelter for Ichthyosaur. The last is to go to Cal Poly tomorrow. One is with … the Taliesin Foundation at Scottsdale, Arizona. We hope (1) That about twenty of the best students at Cal Poly will be doing plans and or scale models with IDEAS. … We hope (2) That Gene Maselink and Wes Peter's [sic] (who was away) may come through with professional plans there, suitable to get bids from contractor's [sic] so as to apply for a Fleishman [sic] Foundation grant."
2William Gordon Huff, letter to Ray Strong, 13 Oct 1965, RSFP.
3William Gordon Huff, letter to Ray Strong, 11 Aug 1963, RSFP.
4See footnote 2 above.
5See footnote 2 above.
1V.L. VanderHoof, letter to Huff, 25 May 1959, HFA.
1William Gordon Huff, letter to Ray Strong, 6 Sep 1961, RSFP. Strong's 10 Dec 1960 note re the $500 was written on a copy of a letter addressed to Floyd Lafayette (Western Museum Laboratories, San Francisco, CA), RSFP.
1D. Robert Hakala (Museum Specialist, Western Museum Laboratory), letter to Huff, 27 Apr 1960, Charles Lewis Camp Papers, correspondence 1936-1996, box 1, "Camp, Charles L. correspondence D-K" folder, UA.
2William Gordon Huff, letters to Charles Camp, 15 Jan and 5 Feb 1961, Charles Lewis Camp Papers, correspondence 1936-1996, box 1, "Camp, Charles L. correspondence D-K" folder, UA. In the 15 Jan letter, Huff asked Camp for "illustrations of a few specific marine genera and for faunal suggestions" for a Carmel Formation painting; the 5 Feb letter was an update on the Zion exhibits in which Huff says that Don Savage was very helpful.
3Ray Strong, letter to Huff, 2 Feb 1961, RSFP.
4Charles Camp, "A New Type of Small Bipedal Dinosaur from the Navajo Sandstone of Arizona" (University of California Publications, Bulletin of the Department of Geological Sciences, 1936), 24:39-56.
5Hakala.
6Floyd Lafayette (Western Museum Laboratory), letter to Ray Strong, 9 Feb 1961, RSFP.
7Ray Strong, two letters to Huff, 2 Apr and 1 Jul 1961, RSFP.
8Mark Humpal, "Re: A favor to ask," email to me, 25 Dec 2015. For a more detailed description of these National Park projects, see Humpal's biography of Ray Strong, Ray Strong: West Coast Landscape Artist (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2017), pp. 221-224.
1Ruben Stirton, letter to Chancellor Ed Strong, 15 May 1962, HFA.
2Zach M. Arnold, letters to Huff, 19 Mar and 17 Sep 1962, HFA.
1From a Project 400/Hillendale Museum brochure, RSFP. The museum was on Hillendale Road at Hickory Hill Road in Mendenhall, PA.
2Project-related correspondence between Ray Strong and Huff, Jul 1961 through Aug 1968, RSFP and HFA.
3Ray Strong, letter to Huff, 7 Jun 1967, RSFP. William Gordon Huff, letters to Ray Strong, 13 Jun and 19 Jun 1967, HFA.
4Museums, especially those concerned with American history, have a hard enough time making ends meet, but May's Hillendale Museum was doomed to be a money-loser from the outset. It did no advertising or fundraising, sought no media attention, and there were no programs organized for the schools. Admission to the museum was by reservation only, and that had to be in writing. Children had to have at least a sixth-grade education and only three children could be admitted per adult. There were no eating or picnic facilities on the grounds and cameras were not allowed. The museum struggled along until its closure in 1984, just 15 years after it opened. Ernest May died a year later.
Following its closure, the museum was turned over to the Freedoms Foundation, which, according to its website, is a "national educational non-profit welcoming thousands of people a year to participate in programs to encourage engaged, responsible citizenship." The Foundation considered integrating the museum's exhibits into a new visitor center they were building at their Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, location, but it is unknown whether the exhibits were salvaged or not. Inquiries were sent to multiple individuals at the Foundation but no responses were received. The museum building is now the Hillendale Elementary School. The museum's fate is from a 15 Mar 1987 article on The Philadelphia Inquirer's website (account needed to access article).
1Hardison and Demars Architects (160 Broadway, Richmond, CA), letter to Ray Strong, 8 Apr 1959, RSFP. It is clear that Strong had made suggestions regarding the design of the room but was told "As the work is in the advance stages of structural completion, changes would not be economically feasible at this time." The letter also implies that Strong would be meeting with Arleigh Williams, the Dean of Students, regarding the room.
2Kelley & VerPlanck Historical Resources Consulting (San Francisco, CA), California Student Center/Lower Sproul Plaza, University of California-Berkeley, Berkeley, California, Historic Structure Report. 15 Jul 2009, 200+ pp. [accessed 9 Mar 2017]
3Art Activities Center informational flier, c. 1961, RSFP. The flier refers to Strong as an "associate artist." It is unknown how often Huff was present at the Center or whether he was paid for his time.
4Ray Strong, letter to Huff, 18 Jul 1961, RSFP.
1Ray Strong, letters to Huff, 2 Apr, May, 2 Jun, 18 Jul, and 10 Sep 1961, RSFP. Forrest Tregea, letter to Ray Strong, 21 Apr 1961, RSFP. Benito Juàrez (1806-1872) served as President of Mexico from 1858 through his death of natural causes in 1872, surviving a civil war and a French invasion. He is the only Mexican individual to be honored with a national holiday in Mexico (March 21).
1The posters are first mentioned in Ray Strong, letter to Huff, c. Aug 1961, HFA. "I need to send the A.S.U.C. book co-op an inventory or bill for their file to reimburse us when they decide they have a good thing in your horse phylogeny." More information is provided four years later: Ray Strong, letter to Huff, 13 Nov 1965, HFA. "Thanks for the postal about … your horse phylogeny prints. Yes, lets issue another set, after first getting back the cost of the first batch from the A.S.U.C. bookstore. Not their fault by any stretch of ethic or imagination. I just dumped the batch in and said 'sell em' at enough to move them and give A.S.U.C. a slight profit and get our initial free enterprise cultural fossil horse cost back."
1William Gordon Huff, letter to Ray Strong, 24 Jul 1967, RSFP. "I … went to the Academy of Sciences. I had not seen the completed mounted rhino — the full scale model of which I made for Dr. Miller four or five years ago. Toschio [probably Toshio Asaeda] did a good job in stretching the skin over it. I still don't like 'stuffed' animals, but I thought they did a good job in displaying it."
2Ray Strong, letter to Huff, 16 Jun 1962, HFA. "He [VanderHoof] was sorry Bison Latifrons went to Miller and the Academy … but did feel more people would see it there."
3Zach M. Arnold, letter to Huff, 19 Mar 1962, HFA. "Although I would greatly enjoy preparing an exhibit for the California Academy of Sciences, I'm afraid that my other commitments make it impossible at present or in the foreseeable future."
1Ray Strong, letters to Huff, 12 Dec 1961 and 26 Mar 1962, HFA. In the 12 Dec letter: "I have left June July & August open for time off to … go to Australia IF I get the Guggenheim." Then, in the 26 Mar letter: :The Guggenheim was 'no go.'" Ruben Stirton, letter to Paul Lawson (Senior Preparator, South Australian Museum, Adelaide, Australia), 26 Feb 1962, Ruben Stirton Administrative Files and Correspondence, folder "Australia 1962," UA. Stirton told Lawson that Strong would be joining the 1962 field trip if he obtained the Guggenheim.
2Bill Clemens (Associate Professor in the Department of Paleontology and Curator of Fossil Mammals at UCMP), letter to David Corbett (Curator of Minerals and Fossils, South Australian Museum, Adelaide, Australia), 26 Sep 1967, Ruben Stirton Administrative Files and Correspondence 1950-1955, box 6, folder 1: "South Australian Museum 1958-1967," UA. Regarding "your request for Xerox copies of Bill Huff's restorations of Australian mammals for Time-Life."
3David Bergamini and the editors of Life, The Land and Wildlife of Australia [Life Nature Library] (New York: Time Life, 1964), 198 pp. On page 194, in the acknowledgements, it reads "86, 87–Drawings by Jean Zallinger; reconstruction by William G. Huff." The singular "reconstruction" makes it sound as if Huff made only one drawing but more than likely he provided the reconstructions for the five extinct marsupials on the two-page spread.
1Charles L. Camp, Stories of Fossils, Experimental Edition (University of California Printing, 1966). 164 pp.
2Mary Small (Secretary, UC Elementary School Science Project, 2232 Piedmont Ave., Berkeley), letter to Huff, 10 Apr 1964, HFA. "Dr. Mason, director of the Project, has approved your proposal for preparing 30 to 35 illustrations at $50 each for the materials Dr. Camp is developing for elementary school."
1Based on an October 1964 letter from Ray Strong to Ernest May (see Project 400/Hillendale Museum), it was someone from the soon-to-merge museums who contacted Huff about possibly working on exhibits. Strong wrote "Recently William Gordon Huff my sculptor-diorama teammate friend wrote me about the six million, triple museum for Oakland, California; of Art, Science and History, financed by a bond issue passed two years ago by citizens of that city. They have reached the stage of asking for artists. The man in charge of Science exhibits is the same as for the three floors Huff and I did for the Earth Sciences Building, Paleontology Museum at the University of California 1962-1963. He has asked if we would be interested in doing exhibits in this field for the Oakland Museum on a contract basis." The identity of the "man in charge of Science exhibits" is unknown.
2Several letters in the HFA and RSFP concern the Oakland Museum of California business. HFA: Ray Strong, at least five letters to Huff, dating between 15 Feb 1965 and 24 Nov 1968. RSFP: William Gordon Huff, three letters to Ray Strong, dating between 16 Sep 1965 and 24 Oct 1965; and Ray Strong, three letters to Ernest N. May, dating between 31 Oct 1964 and 8 Jun 1968.
1William Gordon Huff, letter to Ray Strong, 24 Oct 1965, RSFP.
2William Gordon Huff, letter to Ray Strong, 23 Feb 1968, RSFP.
3William Gordon Huff, letter to Ray Strong, 8 Mar 1978, RSFP.
1William Gordon Huff, letter to Ray Strong, 20 Jun 1968, RSFP.
2William Gordon Huff, letter to Ray Strong, 4 Aug 1968, RSFP.
3Tim Huff, "Fwd: MLK Bust," email to me, 18 Sep 2018.
1Read Allen's obituary on the Vacaville Heritage Council website. It is interesting to note that Allen's father, Joseph Allen, became State Supervisor for the WPA's Northern California Art Project during the period when Huff was working on his WPA project making heads of "pioneer notables" in 1936.
2Ibid.
3In an online article Karen Nolan wrote "Huff never lived in Solano County, says historian Jerry Bowen, but he spent a lot of time here helping to restore and maintain the Pena Adobe."
1The Vacaville Art League Gallery is located at 718 E. Monte Vista Avenue in Vacaville.
2In 1936 Huff entered a piece entitled "Saber-tooth Tiger" (Charles Camp's influence perhaps) in the Oakland Art Gallery's annual exhibit for sculptors; from "Schnier Still Ahead in Oakland Annual Voting," Oakland Tribune, 21 Jun 1936. A year later he entered a piece in the San Francisco Art Association's annual exhibit at the San Francisco Museum of Art. H.L. Dungan, a writer for the Oakland Tribune, described Huff's entry: "'Nell,' a portrait head in terrazzo, which, in our opinion, is one of the best in the show. Nell wouldn't make a Hollywood beauty, but she has great beauty of character and a gentle, gracious smile one seldom sees in sculptures. That smile is worth going to see. We went several times." From H.L. Dungan, "Sculptures in Show Mostly Conservative," Oakland Tribune, 11 Apr 1937.
1William Gordon Huff, letter to Ray Strong, 15 Sep 1971, RSFP.
2William Gordon Huff, letter to Rodney Rulofson (curator of the Peña Adobe Museum, Vacaville, CA), c. 1970, RSFP. "I have made numerous ones [masks] of every size and description. Years ago, when I was living in New York, I designed my first series for a playwrite [sic], the late Em Jo Basshe."
1William Gordon Huff, letter to Ray Strong, 22 Jun 1982, RSFP.
2William Gordon Huff, letter to Ray Strong, 17 May 1977, RSFP.