Greek Vases in the Spreckels Collection as Published in the Corpus Vasorum, November 1, 1943-January 2, 1944

Born on March 24, 1881 in the Outer Sunset district of San Francisco, California, Alma de Bretteville Spreckels, known as "Big Alma," was a philanthropist, socialite, mother, art enthusiast, and major influence in San Francisco and around the world. In 1924, she opened the San Francisco art museum the Legion of Honor along with her husband, sugar magnate Adolph B. Spreckels.

As a teenager, she served as the model for the statue at the top of the Dewey Monument that still stands today in Union Square in San Francisco. This caught the eye of Adolph B. Spreckels whose father Claus Spreckels founded the Spreckels Sugar Company in 1881. Spreckels was one of the wealthiest and most eligible bachelors in San Francisco and married Alma in 1908. Together they had three children, Alma Emma, Adolph Bernard Jr., and Dorothy Constance. Alma died at age 87 on August 7, 1968.

Alma not only served as the matriarch of the Spreckels family, but she was also a social influence in San Francisco, California and around the world. She played host to kings and queens and other world powers. She was a political influence as well and in 1923 was appointed a Special Envoy of the U.S. Department of Labor to investigate women's industrial working conditions in Europe.

Alma was introduced to the art of the French sculptor and painter Auguste Rodin by her friend entertainer, Loie Fuller. Through this relationship, Alma was inspired to become a patron of the arts. Which led her to found the Legion of Honor along with her husband in 1924.

The Legion of Honor, originally called the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, was founded in 1924 by Adolph B. and Alma de Bretteville Spreckels. The museum building was created after a temporary structure that was built for the Panama Pacific International Exposition in 1915, which itself was modeled after the Palais de la Légion d'Honneur (also known as the Hôtel de Salm) in Paris. Construction on the museum broke ground in 1921 and opened to the public on Armistice Day November 11, 1924 in dedication to the memory of the over 3,000 Californians who perished in World War I.

The original collection was mostly curated by Alma herself from her personal collection of European, mainly French, art that she purchased on her trips to Europe. This collection of ceramics included many of her prized works and this exhibition represented one of many long-term loans of her artworks that took place at the Legion of Honor through her lifetime.