Sam Maloof: Inland master - extended story

Due to space constraints, a smaller version of this story of Sam Maloof's new Cal State San Bernardino museum exhibit was printed. In the below version, a richer portrait of the evening's events can be read, including a quote from former President Jimmy Carter.

Below: Sam Maloof, 92, sits in his handcrafted California walnut rocking chair Saturday. The chair later was auctioned at Cal State San Bernardino for $75,000. Photo by Brett Snow

By Robert Rogers

SAN BERNARDINO - The museum was a sight to behold. The handcrafted cabinets and benches and tables forged of walnut and maple spanned six decades and bore the subtle traits of their architect.

Durable and functional, yet fine and elegant.

Understated and minimalist, but capable of fetching blushing sums of money.

But while Saturday’s preview of Cal State San Bernardino’s Robert V. Fullerton Museum’s newest exhibit, Sam Maloof: Essence of the Handmade, spotlighted a woodworking genius with more than 80 pieces of vintage art, it was the unassuming master who shone brightest.

“This is a man who has changed the face of woodworking, whose reputation is international,” said Cal State San Bernardino President Al Karnig while Maloof sat in a signature rocking chair feet away, holding steady under a strobe-glare of camera flashes. “His artistry is surpassed only by his humanity.”

More than 350 people turned out Saturday for an event jointly marking the preview of the university’s newest art exhibit and celebrating the artist’s 92nd birthday.

The glitzy affair - attendees paid $92 per ticket, with proceeds going to university art programming - drew deep pockets and art aficionados alike.

Odes to Maloof, born in Chino in 1916 to Lebonese immigrant parents, included a special video tribute from Jimmy Carter. The former president drew sighs from the crowd when he touchingly proclaimed himself Maloof’s “friend from Georgia,” after calling the honorary Cal State professor “the greatest woodworker in the world.”

An auction for one of Maloof’s famous rocking chairs, a handsome 2007 California black walnut with ebony inlays, yielded sums surprising even for this world-renowned craftsman. After a few nailbiting minutes of soaring values, two winners emerged, both knotted at $75,000.

Maloof agreed to produce another chair, securing another $150,000 for art student scholarships, art acquisitions for the university, and arts and crafts instruction.

Maloof, a spry and sturdy 92-years - he said he still crafts eight to nine hours per day - promised to keep delivering one-of-a-kind woodworks, satisfying a backlog of customer orders. A piece of original Maloof can take five years after order.

“I like to take orders,” the wry Maloof told admirers Saturday. “The more orders I get, the longer I have to live.”

The public may visit the museum starting Jan. 29.

What: “Sam Maloof: Essence of the Handmade”

Where: Robert V. Fullerton Museum, Cal State San Bernardino

When: Jan. 29 to May 17, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday.

Cost: free

Info: (909) 537-7373 or art museum@csusb.edu