Art Institute

Ella King Torrey, a charismatic arts leader who brought national recognition to the San Francisco Art Institute and tripled its endowment during seven years as its president, has died. She was 45. Torrey, who lived in the Potrero Hill section of San Francisco, apparently took her own life Wednesday. A coroner's investigation is pending.

In an era of tight money and intense competition for new students, Whittier College and a Los Angeles art institute have launched a program aimed at bolstering each other's enrollments without breaking the bank. Beginning this fall, the two colleges will offer a joint art major, leading to dual degrees, that educators say will take advantage of the respective strengths of the two small, private schools.

The leafy view from John W. Lottes' office-cum-treehouse, nestled among the sycamores that line Laguna Canyon, often can take the edge off the most stressful day. The same view, however, can also spark fretful memories. Less than a year ago, firefighters were battling canyon-ravaging flames to keep them from reaching the Art Institute of Southern California, Orange County's only private four-year art college, where Lottes is president.

ENCINITAS, Calif. -- At the Lux Art Institute in Encinitas, demystifying the creative process means turning it into a combination spectator event and audience-participation forum, playing live three days a week. Invited artists get to settle into Lux's new $6-million, canyon-side retreat, usually for a month or two -- with all expenses paid, plus a stipend -- while creating their next piece.

The Art Institute of Southern California, in rejecting a $15,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, has become the first Orange County organization to turn down money from the embattled agency. On the recommendation of their president, Russell E. Lewis, trustees of the small fine arts school voted unanimously late last week to turn down the grant rather than sign an NEA-mandated anti-obscenity certification required of all 1990 grant recipients.

Fifteen seniors will receive their bachelor of fine arts degrees in Friday's commencement at the Art Institute of Southern California--the school's first four-year graduating class. The school, which opened on the grounds of the Laguna Beach Festival of Arts in 1962 and moved to its current location in 1977, was accredited by the National Assn. of Schools of Art and Design in 1985, making it the only private art institute in Orange County eligible to award a bachelor of fine arts degree.

James Cuno, newly appointed as director and president of the Art Institute of Chicago, came late to the world of museums and art collecting. Cuno, 52, didn't hold a museum job until he was in his 30s and didn't even study art history formally until he realized he didn't have much of a future in theater. But being a relative newcomer means Cuno still has a convert's zeal. He sees the museum experience as almost religious and definitely good for you.

About 200 guests took a sentimental journey to the 1940s when Designing Women staged "The USO Show at the Hollywood Canteen" for the Art Institute of Southern California. Dressed in '40s formal wear or military uniforms, the party-goers turned up at the Four Seasons Hotel in Newport Beach on Saturday to salute America's war heroes. The $150-per-person dinner-dance was expected to net about $30,000 for Designing Women, which supports the nonprofit art institute in Laguna Beach.

Shortly after he was installed as president of the Art Institute of Southern California last month, John W. Lottes attended a party held by the support group Designing Women. "One of my goals," he told the well-heeled, well-coiffed crowd, "is to get each of you to commit at least as much to the school as you spend on your hair." Lottes related the story with jovial gusto last week, during a wide-ranging conversation in his office.

A plan to double the size of the Art Institute of Southern California on Laguna Canyon Road has reopened an environmental Pandora's Box. The plan, part of a $5.6-million construction and endowment campaign to be formally announced tonight at the school's annual President's Club dinner, calls for a $1.9-million, 15,000-square-foot new building and $1.5 million in upgraded existing facilities on the institute's 2.8-acre property.