“Corte Madera” by Marge Salin, 1951. Catherine Robson Collection, MHM.
This sketch of Corte Madera in the '50s is by Marge Salin, a widely-known artist, author, poet and free spirit who passionately participated in Marin’s art community and in San Francisco’s North Beach beat poetry scene. Born Marjorie Helen Gross in San Francisco in 1922, she graduated with Washington High School’s inaugural class. She attended Mills College in Oakland and later UC Berkeley, earning a bachelor’s degree in cultural anthropology in 1945.
During her 55 years as a San Rafael resident, Marge served as the first director of the Marin Society of Artists, helped to organize the Sausalito Arts Festival, founded Marin Museum Associates, and started Bull’s Eye Gallery in San Anselmo in 1970, a creative space for emerging artists and musicians. She self-published several books, including “The Talent Around Tamalpais” in 1953, describing Marin’s art scene, and “I Was a Hobohemian Dilettante” in 1985.
Marge drew hundreds of caricatures and made expressive, cartoon-like drawings and maps of Marin, three of which the Marin History Museum retains. Her 16mm films of early artists of the North Beach Beat Generation are preserved at the Pacific Film Archive in Berkeley. Marge had five children with her husband Lothar Salin, nephew of North Beach artist “Wolo,” who significantly influenced her work. And finally, Marge is said to have owned the very first Volkswagen bus in Marin County.
Map of Marin by Marge Salin, 1957. Carol Wells Collection, MHM.
Sources: sfgate.com, marinij.com