Banking on Art to Draw in New Business

The lobby of the Ivanhoe branch of Imperial Savings in La Jolla looks more like an upscale gallery than a temple of money this week, jammed as it is with original paintings and prints from the nationally acclaimed Wyeth-Hurd clan of artists.

To be sure, the exhibit has only a little to do with Imperial’s feelings of public largess. With the competition for CD deposits among financial institutions reaching the carnivorous stage, art makes an attractive come-on.

Hence, an exhibit featuring works by Andrew Wyeth, N.C. Wyeth, Henriette Wyeth Hurd, Peter Hurd, Carol Hurd Rogers, James Wyeth and Michael Hurd. The show, featuring more than 90 pieces, will be on view through Saturday.

Among the paintings are N.C. Wyeth’s original book illustrations from “The Deerslayer” and Mark Twain’s “The Mysterious Stranger.”

As a part of the promotion, the La Jolla Chamber Music Society, COMBO and the San Diego Opera will receive a contribution from Imperial for each new CD account opened this week. And 14 nonprofit organizations will split the money from the sale of a set of six Andrew Wyeth prints in his “Siri” series. The “Siri” prints, valued at about $30,000, were donated by La Jolla arts activist William Purves.

“The problem we’re running into is our shows have gotten to be too good (for banks),” said art dealer Peter Rogers, the grandson of N.C. Wyeth and manager of the family gallery in Santa Fe, N.M. “I think we’re going to have to tone it down for our next show.”