Manning Coffee

Archive of the Mendocino Heritage Artists

Dorr  Bothwell & The Manning’s Coffee Murals (1939-1940)

In October 1939, Dorr Bothwell came from Los Angeles to San Francisco to see to see her painting, The Birth of Venus,  at the Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay.

The Birth of Venus by Dorr Bothwell (1939). Oil. Private collection.
The Birth of Venus by Dorr Bothwell (1939). Oil. Private collection.

In San Francisco, Bothwell discovered two opportunities. First, a studio, at reasonable rent, was becoming available at the Montgomery Block, where she had lived years before. Second,  Bothwell was offered a commission to paint The Story of Manning’s Coffee, as murals, at the Manning’s Coffee restaurant on Sutter Street, opposite The White House department store.

The Manning’s at 891 Market Street, San Francisco, California, one of a popular California chain of Manning’s Coffee Cafes (1954).

With the studio promised, and with the guarantee of work, in early 1940 Bothwell moved up from Los Angeles, bringing a typographer and a painter to assist her with the Manning’s murals. They stayed at a cheap hotel on Grant Avenue, and got to work.

Bothwell, researched the history of coffee, arranged for ladders, scaffolding, and casein paints. Pushing themselves hard, working nights from 10:00 pm to 6:00 am so as not to disturb restaurant customers, Bothwell and her team finished the murals in less than a week.

Eventually the murals were painted over, and both the Sutter Street Manning’s Coffee Cafe, and the once legendary White House department store are long gone, but thanks to the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art, photos of the murals remain.

THE STORY OF MANNING’S COFFEE

The story of Manning's Coffee. Manning's Coffee Murals by Dorr Bothwell (1940). Archives of American Art.
The story of Manning’s Coffee. Manning’s Coffee Murals by Dorr Bothwell (1940). Archives of American Art.
Blossom time in a coffee finca. Manning's Coffee Murals by Dorr Bothwell (1940). Archives of American Art.
Blossom time in a coffee finca. Manning’s Coffee Murals by Dorr Bothwell (1940). Archives of American Art.
Ripe coffee cherries are picked by hand. Manning's Coffee Murals by Dorr Bothwell (1940). Archives of American Art.
Ripe coffee cherries are picked by hand. Manning’s Coffee Murals by Dorr Bothwell (1940). Archives of American Art.
Coffee beans are dried in the Sun. Manning's Coffee Murals by Dorr Bothwell (1940). Archives of American Art.
Coffee beans are dried in the Sun. Manning’s Coffee Murals by Dorr Bothwell (1940). Archives of American Art.
Bags of coffee g to the railroad. Manning’s Coffee Murals by Dorr Bothwell (1940). Archives of American Art.
Coffee lands in San Francisco. Manning’s Coffee Murals by Dorr Bothwell (1940). Archives of American Art.
Manning's Coffee arrives at your grocers. Manning's Coffee Murals by Dorr Bothwell (1940). Archives of American Art.
Manning’s Coffee arrives at your grocers. Manning’s Coffee Murals by Dorr Bothwell (1940). Archives of American Art. Note Bothwell’s Siamese cat on a leash.

MORE WORK FOR MANNING’S COFFEE

In addition to the Sutter Street murals, in 1940 Dorr Bothwell did a series of Costumes of Coffeeland for Manning’s Coffee Cafe menu covers.

Costumes of Coffeeland: Cuba. Manning’s Coffee Cafe menu cover by Dorr Bothwell (1940).

In 1942, Manning’s Coffee Company hired Bothwell to do a Good Neighbor color book, for morale, but didn’t publish the book until 1944.

Cover, Manning’s Coffee Good Neighbor Color Book by Dorr Bothwell.
A page from Manning’s Coffee Good Neighbor Color Book by Dorr Bothwell.
A page from Manning’s Coffee Good Neighbor Color Book by Dorr Bothwell.

LINKS
Dorr Bothwell: Artwork
Dorr Bothwell in Her Own Words
Barebones Bothwell
Archives of American Art Terms of Use
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