California Academy of Sciences
Golden Gate Park
These two seals once resided outside the California Academy of Sciences. They are now inside near the restaurant. This view is through the fence. Entry to the Academy is $30 for adults.
These two seals were sculpted by Victor Jules Bergeron. Known locally as Trader Vic, Bergeron is far better known for his chain of Polynesian Restaurants name Trader Vic’s, and his claim of having invented the Mai Tai. In 1940 the first franchised Trader Vic’s opened in Seattle, Washington. In 1950, Bergeron opened a Trader Vic’s location in Hawaii and in 1951 at 20 Cosmo Place in San Francisco. The chain of restaurants grew and is credited as one of the first successful themed chains, a marketing model that many other restaurants followed.
Bergeron (December 10, 1902, San Francisco, California – October 11, 1984, Hillsborough, California) attended Heald College in San Francisco, California.
His life was an epic rags-to-riches story of the self-made American man.
The seals were created in 1970 and according to the Smithsonian are carved from black stone.
I quite like them!
I won’t be showing the entrance from that building for a week or so.
I’m so glad to find these seal sculptures by Victor Bergeron. I have three clay penguins I was told originated in a Bergeron studio in Los Angeles in the late 20th century. Do you have any information on pottery by Bergeron, or can you tell me where I can learn more about his art works? Thanks.
[…] Victor Bergeron, Trader Vic, was also a sculptor and has two sculptures in Golden Gate Park that you can read about here. […]
I have a round amethyst geode, about 5 inches diameter with one side sheered off and a base of molten glass poured in to one level. A small metal figure of an ice skater is set into this “ice cave”. I bought it at the Trader Vic’s restaurant in Singapore at the Hotel New Otani, River Valley Road, sometime in 1985. Since then, the restaurant has closed down and been moved some say, to Vietnam. The artwork/ sculpture was by Victor Bergeron, and came with a certificate to prove its provenance. Alas, I have lost this long slip of paper in several house moves around the globe. Is there anywhere that can validate this artwork? I live in London now.