Bruce Ariss - Life

Life

Bruce Ariss has been influential in Monterey, California, where a street and theatre have been named after him. In addition, he has numerous murals there, at least some of which were 1930s Works Progress Administration projects. He has myriad illustration work in published books, as well as various published books of his own.

For many years, Bruce Ariss was an artist, writer, and icon on the Monterey peninsula. He settled on the peninsula 1936 with his wife Jean, whom he met at the University of Califorina, Berkeley. They lived the rest of their lives and reared five children in a house they built on Huckleberry Hill in Monterey. His murals can still be found throughout Monterey County. Bruce was a friend and contemporary of Nobel Prize winning author John Steinbeck and Ed “Doc” Ricketts.

Bruce accompanied Ricketts and Steinbeck on multiple excursions to Mexico, to collect marine specimens. His pencil sketches chronicled the trip and offered a rare insight to the obstinate but charming Steinbeck, who himself wrote of one such journey in the book Sea Of Cortez.

One of his many interests was a concept car called the Polaris. In 1958 Bruce designed an economy sedan with innovative features such as a sliding door, front wheel drive and modular components.

Bruce worked 12 years at the Defense Language Institute with Barney Inada in the art department. Other accomplishments include designing and building the Wharf Theater which stands today as part of his legacy to the city of Monterey and its arts community he worked diligently towards improving. Bruce's artwork was influenced by Diego Rivera. Rivera insisted that a woodblock carving of him by Ariss was the best portrait that any artist had ever done of him.

Ariss also assisted cartoonist Hank Ketcham with Dennis the Menace and working on various movie sets, as well as being the set director for the "I Love Lucy Show".