Desktop background "forgotten" between sessions

[Don Doumakes <doumakes loganet net>]

I'm running gnome 2.10.r1 on a Gentoo system.  Since upgrading, I've 
noticed that whenever I log in to Gnome, my desktop background is black. 
 The Desktop Background Preferences applet does a fine job of restoring 
the background, but as soon as I log out and log back in, the background 
is gone again.

Is this a known bug, a new bug (surely not), or some kind of 
configuration mistake on my part?  What would you need to know about my 
installed packages to get a clearer picture?

--
Don Doumakes