Lot 1

(introductory essay) KATHERINE HOFFMAN HALEY - A Personal Profile DEDICATION...DETERMINATION...DRIVE These are the words that come to mind when I reflect on Katherine Haley - that complex and endearing woman whose achievements have given us inspiration and insight into what one person's tireless efforts can accomplish in a lifetime of dedication to family life, ranch life, business endeavors, civic duties, the arts and politics. It is a great opportunity and a special privilege for me to take a nostalgic glimpse into her past to see and understand how legends are made. Katherine Louise Hoffman was born in Ventura County on August 17, 1919 to Edith Hobson Hoffman and Walter Hoffman. Katherine and her brother, Walter, are the great-grandchildren of William Dewey Hobson, who is known as the father of Ventura County for his role in convincing the California State Legislature in 1872 to create a separate county from the southern portion of Santa Barbara County. Katherine and her brother Walter were raised on the family's 7500 acre Rancho Casitas - site of the present day Lake Casitas. Rancho Casitas, once a stagecoach stop on the Santa Barbara/Ventura route, was the center of her father's thoroughbred horse breeding business. Walter Hoffman was one of the most prominent breeders of thoroughbred horses in California and is one of those credited with making horse racing legal in California. Katherine's childhood, teen years and young adulthood were spent surrounded by her beloved horses in that beautiful western landscape of rolling hills and majestic oaks in the foothills of the Santa Ynez Mountains. At the age of 14, she bought her first race horse and followed in her father's footsteps, sharing his love and passion for horses and racing. Rancho Casitas continued to be home to Kay as a young married woman and the place she chose to raise her four children, Andrea, Bob, Roger and Virginia. With the advent of Lake Casitas, Rancho Casitas ceased to exist. The Haleys built Rancho Mi Solar - not far from the original Rancho. It lies on the east shore of Lake Casitas and comprises 450 acres of rolling pasture with panoramic vistas from the lake to the mountains. It has been home to the Haley family since 1956 and the gathering place of family, friends, social and political events for over 40 years. During this time, Katherine Haley was appointed by then Governor Ronald Reagan to serve on the California State Fair Board and in addition served as vice president of the Board of Directors of the California Exposition and Fair. Kay was also appointed chairman of the California Exposition Racing Hall of Fame. Kay Haley was very active showing registered quarter horses and raising short horn cattle. She was a member of the California Cattlemen's Association and later continued her involvement in cattle breeding with both Charolaix and Semintal cattle. In 1970, Katherine Haley received the California Museum of Science and Industry Award for Woman of the Year in Agriculture. Social life at Rancho Mi Solar continued full swing for the next two decades as a gathering place for holidays, homecomings, birthday celebrations and of course the family weddings. Rancho Mi Solar and neighboring Lake Casitas have even found themselves in the world's spotlight as the setting for the 1984 Olympic Rowing and Canoeing competition. The ensuing years found Kay busy with her volunteer work - fundraising for the Ventura County Museum of History and Art, serving on the Board of Trustees of Community Memorial Hospital and devoting time and energy to politics and the Republican Party. Kay first became involved with the Republican campaigns in 1962 and through the years, Rancho Mi Solar, with Kay at the helm, played host to many prominent Republican candidates. In addition to her very visible role as a patron of the arts and an active supporter of cultural and political events, Kay was the recipient of the coveted Milton Teague Award for Volunteerism for outstanding distinguished service to the community. Less known, however, were her many acts of generosity to private individuals and needy causes. Rancho Mi Solar is also home to Kay Haley's extraordinary collection of Western Art and memorabilia. Over the years, Kay generously loaned portions of her collection for exhibit to the National Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center in Oklahoma City; the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon; the Cow Palace; the Palm Springs Desert Art Museum and the Ventura County Museum of History and Art. Her art collection reflects her nostalgia for times past...that time and period in history when life was simpler...with its images of frontier life and its documentation of the West. Over the past years, Kay's many friends and acquaintances were delighted to be invited to visit Rancho Mi Solar and the "Borein Room" - actually three rooms - filled from floor to ceiling with his work...bookcases and cabinets with photos, letters, clippings and books about the artist. Kay's knowledge and her enthusiasm for her collection and the challenge and delight she found in the pursuit of her acquisitions have intrigued many visitors. I never ceased to be amazed and fascinated by her ability to remember not only everyone's name when introducing friends and acquaintances, but also at the same time peppering every introduction with personal anecdotes and stories. I have tried to paint a portrait of Katherine Haley, a true renaissance woman - a woman of many accomplishments whose life from early childhood until her demise reflected her intellectual honesty, her unparalleled range of experience as a businesswoman, rancher and collector, and above all as a woman whose whole life remains an essential part of our history. It is not surprising that her pride in her heritage, her family tradition of excellence and achievement, her devotion to the land and California's vanishing history and its preservation were among her great passions in life. Bobbi Dufau Ojai, California August 23, 2000 (as pre lot text above the first lot...) FINE ART AND PRINTS

Carl Oscar Borg (1879-1947)

Monument Valley

Details

Carl Oscar Borg (1879-1947)
Monument Valley
signed 'Carl Oscar Borg' (lower right)
gouache on paper laid down on board
5 x 7 in. (12.7 x 10.2 cm.)