San Antonio Community Hospital (now known as San Antonio Regional Hospital: SARH) was founded in 1907, just 25 years after the establishment of the Ontario Model Colony itself. Prior to 1907, residents were forced to travel to Los Angeles for treatment of serious medical conditions. The first hospital facility, located on the corner of Arrow Highway and San Antonio Avenue, had 18 beds and five physicians. That original building still stands today, although repurposed.
The founding physician of San Antonio Hospital was Dr. William Howard Craig. He and two of his eight children had an active private practice. (His youngest child, Thomas Theodore Craig, was an important artist who executed a mural for the hospital and is represented in CCMA’s collection.) In 1921, Dr. Craig enlisted the support of his friend and patient Frances Mary Paul to raise funds for a new enlarged hospital facility to service the growing population of the area. The Paul family donated $95,000 and the new facility was dedicated in 1924.
In 1930, Dr. Aloysius “Al” Aita, a bacteriologist, was named hospital administrator. He served for the next 32 years until his death in 1963, bringing the hospital into the modern era. During his tenure, he became known for several major innovations including setting up a laboratory to make penicillin (a newly developed “miracle drug” in short supply during World War II), establishing a blood plasma bank and creating a process of typing pneumonia cases. The hospital continued to outgrow its facilities and the Latimer Pavilion, named in honor of Charles Latimer, long time chairman of the hospital’s board of trustees was dedicated in 1953.
Dr. Aita was also known for innovations in hospital design. He worked to create a physical environment that promoted rest and healing. He supervised the use of interior design elements, the installation of televisions at bedsides and excellent food delivered to patient rooms. Significantly, he actively developed an art collection to be displayed on the interior walls of the hospital to enhance the other aspects of the healing environment.
The San Antonio Hospital art collection was the direct result of a collaboration between Dr. Aita and artist Phil Dike, then a professor at Scripps College and the Claremont Graduate School. By the 1950s, Claremont had become a nationally-recognized center for the education of young talented artists. Under the leadership of Millard Sheets, the art institutions of the area attracted both talented students and faculty. Around 1956, Dr. Aita asked Mr. Dike to create an art collection for the hospital. As a result, the San Antonio Hospital art collection is a treasured resource that includes works from a number of prominent Claremont artists.
From now until October 20, 2024, the Chaffey Community Museum of Art is exhibiting a selected group of high-quality works from the San Antonio Hospital collection. Thirty watercolors and serigraphs by Pomona Valley artist Phil Dike form a historically-significant group within this collection. Next in importance is a set of sixteen serigraphs by Millard Sheets, the leader of the Pomona Valley arts community. Other noted artists such as Milford Zornes, Tom Craig (son of Dr. William Howard Craig) and Robert E. Wood are represented by single works in the collection.
In the spirit of gender neutrality characteristic of the Pomona Valley region, women artists are well represented. These works are in a range of media and variety of styles typical of the Pomona Valley artists. Noted creators such as Carolyn Batchelor, Andrée Mahoney, Diane Divelbess and Martha Underwood were part of this group. Overall, the works included in the San Antonio Hospital Collection are fully representative of the community of regional artists active in the Pomona Valley in the 1950s and early 1960s.
The San Antonio Hospital art collection can be seen until October 20, 2024 at the Chaffey Community Museum of Art located in the historic 1919 Ontario Water and Power Company building at 217 S. Lemon Avenue, Ontario. Public hours at noon to 4 pm Thursday through Sunday. Admission and parking are free.
