Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA)

Wilmer James, also a student at USC [with Tony Hill], worked for Barbara Willis. The influence is hard to miss. With encouragement from Glen Lukens, she went into a short-lived business with Tony Hill. As noted in California's Designing Women 1896 - 1986 James went into business for herself in 1953. Her business did not last past the 1950s and she later became a distinguished educator in the Los Angeles area...Wilmer James, Tony Hill, and Doyle Lane are noted to be the only African American ceramic artists known to be working in California in the early- to mid-1950s.

From Esoteric Survey

LAMA is proud to present a special selection of design curated by Esoteric Survey, featuring more than 100 works that represent platform founder Steve Aldana's guiding fascination with mid-century design and design history in California. Drawing from Aldana's personal collection as well as from his design-minded community, this collection includes iconic works as well as deeper cuts that represent lesser-known, but nonetheless integral, achievements of postwar artists and designers. 

An urban planner by vocation, Aldana has nurtured his fascination with modern design, particularly the strains that emerged in mid-century Southern California, through Esoteric Survey for nearly 15 years. With a desire to share fascinating obscure design figures and document visits to architecture and design sites, he created the blog he named Esoteric Survey in 2009. What first served primarily as a private log for personal reference eventually blossomed into a valuable resource for like-minded design aficionados, and has since taken the form of an immensely popular Instagram account.

Explore Steve Aldana's Blog Esoteric Survey