In November 2024, the Legion of Honor celebrated its 100th anniversary. To honor the occasion, we asked our members to reflect on their experiences with the museum. Below, five members share their Legion of Honor memories. 

Tina Le, Individual-level member

I’ve been visiting the Legion of Honor for several years now, drawn in by the incredible special exhibitions hosted each year. This photo captures my daughter Mimi at just 10 months old on her very first visit. We were there for one of the last weekends of the Botticelli Drawings exhibition — an unforgettable experience, especially with the docent’s insightful tour. It was a perfect Sunday afternoon: Mimi napped while we enjoyed the tour and walked around the museum, and when she woke up, we were right in front of an Andy Warhol piece. We snapped this photo to commemorate her first visit. As a member, I’m also looking forward to Bouquets to Art coming to the Legion of Honor next year — it’s one of my favorite exhibitions, and I can’t wait to see it in a new space!

Mary Curtis Ratcliff, Collection Artist-level member

I have been an artist in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1973. My mylar wind sculpture, Silver Lady, 1974, was installed at the Legion of Honor as part of Lynn Hershman Leeson’s Floating Museum. It was one of my ongoing series of kinetic sculptures which were displayed at numerous venues throughout the Bay Area at the time, including the Legion of Honor, the Palace of Fine Arts, the Oakland Museum, and the SFMOMA Soapbox Derby. In due course, I would transition to two-dimensional work. One of my mixed media works on paper, Santander, Spain, 1999, is now in the collection of the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts.

Laurie Hiatt, Artist-level member

I was inspired to become an artist member when a photograph of mine was chosen for The de Young Open 2023. It was such an honor. I’ve practiced photography as a hobby since I was gifted my first camera in third grade. I never thought I would be going into a museum to see my own work. Thank you for being such a wonderful museum and place to take my family all these years. Even my mom came here when she was younger with her parents. To me, this photo of my husband and daughter is as much a piece of art as the one they are pondering . . . proof that art is everywhere.

Ian McKibbin White, Family-level member

Here I am with my family in the Court of Honor. I had been assistant director at the Brooklyn Museum in New York and we had moved west for me to become assistant director of the Legion of Honor in July, 1967. This was our Christmas card image that year, which marks the beginning of a 20-year adventure. With the merger of the Legion of Honor and de Young, I became the first director of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. An important date during my time was November 11, 1974, the 50th anniversary of the Legion of Honor. Now, here we are 50 years on, celebrating the Legion of Honor 100. Happy anniversary and best wishes to everyone who makes these dynamic museums what they are today.

Erin Dougherty, Teacher-level member

This is a photograph of me doing my best impression of Kim Novak from the movie Vertigo. A good friend of mine and I are both photographers. The Legion of Honor plays a large role in the movie, so of course we had to go there. It is such a beautiful building. Every time I go, I see something to photograph. I became a member after attending the Guo Pei show. That was such an amazing experience. The next time I was in town, I decided to become a member. Even though I live about four and a half hours away, I felt it was important to support this amazing institution and I will continue to support it, just as I support my local art museum.