Since the 1930’s, the City of Claremont and Claremont Colleges have been a haven for artists. The transition into art community was due in large part to Millard Sheets, a Pomona native and artist who studied at the Choinard Art Institute in Los Angeles. Returning to Claremont in the 1930s, Sheets joined the faculty at Scripps College in 1936, where he served as Director of Painting until 1955. During his time at Scripps, Sheets was able to bring in several notable artists as professors to the budding Claremont Colleges art program. Artists like Jean Goodwin Ames, Phil Dike, William Manker, Henry Lee McFee, Albert Stewart, and Milford Zornes all served on the faculty during this period, teaching primarily painting and ceramics at Scripps College and the Claremont Graduate School. In addition to the art faculty, public art pieces and murals across the campuses by artists like Ramon Martinez and Jose Clemente Orozco offered inspiration to a new generation of Claremont artists.

The Padua Hills Theatre, built in 1930 in the Claremont foothills also encouraged a growing art movement in Claremont. The theatre itself served as home to the Mexican Players performance troupe from 1932 to 1974, drawing audiences to Claremont from around Southern California. In addition to the dining room and theatre, Padua Hills also hosted an art colony where ceramic artists like Harrison McIntosh, Rupert Deese, and Betty Davenport Ford had studios and workshops. Each summer the Padua Hills Art Fiesta brought together local artists for a celebration of art in action. Padua Hills thrived as an artist’s colony and the presence of such a community, coupled with the artistic influence of the Claremont Colleges, created an art mecca in Claremont.