Iris Adam dies at 91

Services are planned this weekend for Iris Adam, a long time Laguna Beach resident, artist, and arts community supporter, who died Jan. 30 at Saddleback Hospital. She was 91 years old and had suffered a broken hip three weeks earlier, according to family members.

Adam was a longtime exhibitor and part owner of the Art-A-Fair arts festival property.

In her honor, June Neptune and the Art-A-Fair are hosting a celebration gathering at Tivoli Too! at 6 p.m. Friday, Feb. 5. All friends and family are invited to the event at 777 Laguna Canyon Rd., Laguna Beach.

A memorial service will take place at noon on Saturday, Feb. 6 at Pacific View Memorial Park, 3500 Pacific View Drive, Corona del Mar.

Adam had been an exhibitor at the Art-A-Fair since 1979, the year after she and her husband moved to Laguna Beach. She was also co-owner of the property on Laguna Canyon Road where the festival has been held since 1981.

Involved in the arts in Laguna since her arrival, she was a founding member of LOCA (Laguna Outreach for Community Arts), served as an Arts Commissioner for eight years, and served on the Boards of Art-A-Fair and Watercolor West, a national watercolor society, as well as other organizations.

She taught art at Saddleback College, the Irvine Fine Arts Center, and has a lifetime teaching credential from UCLA. In addition, she was a businesswoman, scuba diver and skier – skiing as recently as just a few years ago, according to a biography issued by the Art-A-Fair.

She had a colorful background, having been born in 1918 in London to dancer Doris Day, one-half of The Day Sisters, a popular vaudeville dance act. Her father was a champion prizefighter who kept the family traveling while he defended his title through-out Europe. Eventually he brought the family to New York where he was defeated. Her mother eventually moved with her daughter to California.

She graduated from Hollywood High, and was married at 17 to Vetold Adam, with whom she celebrated their 50th anniversary before he passed away. As a young married woman, she worked to help put her husband through medical school.

She studied at the Laguna College of Art and moved with her husband to Laguna in 1978. She then applied to both the Festival of Arts and the Art-A-Fair with her watercolors and was thrilled to be accepted into the Art-A-Fair. It was after she committed to them that she learned the Festival of Arts had also accepted her. She started her long association with Art-A-Fair the summer of 1979.

Art-A-Fair had been at two Canyon locations before moving to its present site, which had been a cement factory. The Art-A-Fair board, of which Vetold Adam was president, set up a corporation for membership to buy shares in order to acquire the property, but not enough money was raised. Ultimately, Iris, her husband, and another business partner purchased the land and leased it to the festival.

Iris and Vetold had one daughter, four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.