May 16, 2020
James Grebl, Ph.D.

Tonight I’d like to tell you the story behind the beautiful fusuma or sliding doors that are periodically on display in G8. The doors, painted with peacocks, rabbits, birds, flowers and a Hotei with children, were the gift of Mrs. Leon D. (Grace) Bonnet, wife of the distinguished painter Leon Durand Bonnet in 1955. Mrs. Bonnet, who was an avid member of the Asiatic Arts Committee for years, had first loaned the doors to the Fine Arts Gallery in 1948 for a temporary exhibition. Then in 1955 she donated them to the FAGSD along with the walls and ceiling of an authentic room from an 18th century Japanese house. Mrs. Bonnet had acquired the room, the fusuma, and other Japanese works of art during a stay in Japan lasting two years. The whole ensemble had been installed at the Bonnet’s home in Tuxedo, New York where the artist had lived for years and maintained a studio even after they settled in San Diego (Bonita) in the late 1920s. After the death of Leon in 1936, Mrs. Bonnet closed the house in Tuxedo and moved the Japanese room to San Diego.

Leon Durand Bonnet (1868-1936), born in Philadelphia, was descended from several generations of French artists. After arriving in San Diego he began to paint landscapes featuring the local mountains and deserts and achieved a solid reputation. He was an active member of the Fine Arts Society and the Contemporary Artists of San Diego. He can be seen in the first attached photo which shows the 1930 meeting of the Contemporary Artists in the FAGSD. He’s the second man from the right in the third row, directly behind the young boy who was his son, E. Scofield Bonnet. Grace Scofield Bonnet (1875-1966) is the woman at the far left of the front row wearing a long string of beads and standing next to Allice Klauber.

The Japanese room took a lot of space to be exhibited so it was dismantled and stored in the vaults shortly after its initial installation. Finally, it was deaccessioned in May 1982 except for the four wonderful fusuma which we still enjoy on a rotating basis today.
Last Updated: 5/16/2020