High School Years: Margaret Bruton

Margaret Bruton’s drawing in the 1912 Alameda High School yearbook, The Acorn

Margaret Bruton would have been on track to graduate from Alameda High School in 1912 when she was eighteen, but her name and photo are missing from the graduating class in the 1912 yearbook (nor does she appear in the 1910, 1911, or 1913 yearbooks, which I also checked.) We know that she was a student at the San Francisco Institute of Art in the 1912-1913 academic year, and by August 1913 she was on her way to New York to study at the Art Students League. It seems very likely that she never graduated from Alameda High School. I have since learned that there was nothing unusual about this; in fact, at that time, only about 10% of Americans completed high school, and there was no stigma attached to not having a high school diploma. Margaret clearly was more interested in attending art school than graduating high school.

Margaret did leave some trace of her presence at Alameda High School; two of her charming drawings were published in the 1912 yearbook, the one above, and this one:

Margaret Bruton’s drawing in the 1912 Alameda High School yearbook, The Acorn

Like Esther and Helen, Margaret wasn't much of a “joiner” in high school. She didn’t participate in student government, drama productions, sports, or other clubs. But clearly, as these drawings reveal, she was well on her way to becoming a famous artist.