Imperial Valley press., 1925-09-23
Other improvements


Lobby. constitutes a part of the eN-
tepSive improvements which ". Il.
CONWAY. owner Of the hotel, is hay
my made prepar aratorv to the coming
winter season. Artistic interior
decoration on II scale which will
make the already we'll known hos
tc!rv one Of the most famous in the
>tuthwcs: are underway at the pres
cDt time, ana will be completed, Mr..
Conway plans, by Oclohcr |.
bt particular artistic sigpi fieance
as,s unusual beauty, the muf,tls III
iht local hotel form u read ART
treasure of which the people o: In
lerial Valley may be Justly proud.
Citizens of RI Centre who were MAX
49,. their homes here ten wears agp
know more or less Of the romantic
story of the NySckHl panels. but
residents who have come here more
recently may not be Familiar with
tli> fascinating story WHICH torms
a colorful page Of local history.
We came out from Chicago to
Irs.nt these panels, said Mrs. Wy
s.kag as she began the story Of the
paintings Yesterday. white waiting
for the scaffold;ng which will cnable
her TO reach the canvases 10 be com
pltted. Il.
Then followed the Interesting, ale
OF. how Harold Ben Wright, a tRat
time II resident of. iapcriai VALLEY,
:, nt east for the NysekqlS and
brought them to ciliforpia to rap
't.fra and reproduce ia vivid 'chlors.
tae iIlu>ivc spirit OF the desert, aId
tie >tor- o. its conquest.
Canped in Desert
Fer two weeks We cnmpeG in the
desert several miles out from Coyote
Wells. Mrs. NySekal continued.
= Mr. Wright had made Il camp out
there and we studied the desert Us
il was. And the fact that they
all take the desert as they found II
was evidenced by Il kodak picture
taken OF Mr.. Ny>ekal's : easel on
a day when it had To be anchored
securely with ropes to keep il from
b.-ing carried away by more than
gontle desert breeze.
Returning from the camp, Mr.. and
Mrs. Vysekal were takCn over the
cultivated sections Of the valley
.hcn down into Mexico, and tt
ther places where they wished to gt
10 get material for their preliminary
ackground sketches.
Before leaving Chicago, Mrs. Wy
sekal had read and rcrcad Mr.,
Wright : novel, THE Winning of
Barbara Worth, noting the dcvcl,
Dpmcnt Of the story theme with cspe
rial relation TO the conquest If the
desert by man. Mrs. Nysekal = plan,
for the perturbation of this conoues,
were then worked out in further de
all by herself and Mr.. Wright.
Recall Difficulties
From the time when the Nys"kal ;
.riivcd here in late September, 1914
ntil May !. 1915, they were chgagct
N the creation of pictures. \
studio was erected ON the roof OF
he hotel and Mrs. NySekal laughed
difficulties under which they work
4d.
''Soon after we came we were
old 1T never rains N the valley
me said. But Notwithstanding thi,
'ptimistic statement il did rain, ano
iusr after they had taken up thcii
quarters in the hotel There was
no roof and the unheard of Scptem
Der rain poured. drippcd and spray
I'd through the skeleton of the build
IL9. There WAS not a dry spot IL
-he whole structure where they coulG
Iake refuge.
Later in the winter came more
rain. then wind storm which
the studio on the roof and
would have resulted fatally for Mrs
Y Nsekal had not she left the roof &
fcw moments before. Later they
pseG to steady the studio by rolling
4 big iron wheel 10 the corner which
seemed to be in greatest danger OF
going up in the clouds. Evidently
4 bit of real pioneer spirit exists
i. the hearts of these intrepid artists
tor they both laugh now as they re
,ali these trials. which were really !
tnything but laughing matters.
Wright Found Models
Soon Mr.. Wright had secured
models for the various pictures. aud
work began in the Studio
IN the roof. While everyone i:
familiar with the pictures, many
people. do not know who posed foi
the different figures, and as most OF
the models were prominent valley
pioneers, this is Of decided interest.
First Of the panels, which symbo-
Iize around three sides of the room
Steps in the history of the valley, Il
= Desolation. The late Mrs. j.
-tanicy Brown, as the mother. OF
barbara Worth, andA little Prnic
Perry as small Barbara, posed for
this picture.
Primitive Life, comes next and
shows Il group of Indians, who
tIovrd unusual difficult models ow-
ing to their shyness and restless
hess. "Thc Vision, shows {. Il.
lockwood, pioneer engineer, as th'
:. seer in the oycl. A mirage IN
fbe background typifics the vision.
Andy Elliott, VINO carried rall
across Imperial Valley long before
it was inhabited, interpreted 'TcX
7 l., lt. f."lt n