AHT DEPARTMENT
^>£RIALjr
ACCESSION
709.-794 Un!^-
4?7?54
NOT TO BE TAKEN FROM THE LIBRARY
3427-5M.4-37
,,?"'' f"1^CISC0 PUBLIC LIBRA,,,
3 1223 03941 8927
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2010 with funding from
San Francisco Public Library
http://www.archive.org/details/californiaartres09hail
7n.
n
t
<
1
1
f n '
r
.
\
"n
V^ )
n
0
n
H
n
"^
oi^^^iro
JLIUI,
L.LI1J
flj
^fo-
ri
iPJliDLAJ
^j
Volume Nine
~Z3
0
u
jr
Abstract from W?A Project 2874
0. P. 65-3-3532
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
1937
Monogranhs so far released in this series:
BIOGRAPHY AND WORKS
VOLUllE I.
Introduction to Series
Nahl Family
VOLUME II.
Keith, William
Hill, Thomas
Biers tadt, Albert
VOLUME III.
Rosenthal, Toby
Tojetti, Dominico
Welch, Thaddeus
Robinson, Charles Dorman
VOLUME IV.
Tavernier, Jules
Carlsen, Emil
Joullin, Amedee
Jorgensen, Chris
Rix, Julian
Williams, Virgil
VOLUilE V.
Wi throw, Evelyn A.
Richardson, Mary C-
Raphael, Joseph
Grant, Charles
Breuer, Henry J.
Atkins , Arthur
VOLUME VI.
Putnam , Artnur
Altken, Robert I.
Tilden, Douglas
Cummlngs , Earl
VOLUl/iE VII.
Mathews , Arthur
Piazzoni, Gottardo
Bremer, Anne
VOLUME VIII.
Dixon, Maynard
Van Sic
VOLUME IX.
Van Sloun, Frank
Boynton, Ray
Peixotto, Ernest
McComas, Francis
Hansen, H. W.
Hansen, Armln
Additional volumes in course of preparation.
Vol. IX.
MONOGRAPHS
RAY BOYNTON
ERKEST CLIFFORD PSIXOTTO
FRANCIS JOHN IICCOMS
H. W. HANSEN
ARIvilN C. HANSEN
G-ene Hailey, Editor
Abstract from California Art Research
W.P.A. Pro .1 act 2874, 0. P. 65-5-3653
IJ/V3 ~"
437354
I
TA3LE OF CONTENTS
PAGES
RAY BOYNTON 1
Ghica,ro Bound 2
Boynton Goes Further West 3
BojTiton Comes to San Francisco. 6
Kill Tolerton Ga^.lery 7
Experiment in Fresco 8
1917 Army Service 9
Canon Kip Memori£'J 10
A Change in Techniqu e 11
Teacher V. S. Artist 13
Mills Coller-e Murals 18
Carmel 20
A Strane-e Mediurac 22
Nevada City, 1932 23
Colt Tower 25
The Interviewer Speaks 26
Representative Works 27
Permanent Collections 28
Exhibitions 28
Avrards • 2ea
Clubs 28a
Biblior^raphy 29
ERNEST CLIFFORD PEIXOTTO 30
Plis Early Trainine- 31
The Lark 32
Pf ris 33
Par i s Sa Ion 3 i
Paris 1895 36
Home Again 36
New York 37
Pei.xotto Marries 38
Another European Visit 39
Lady in Yellow 39
Feixotto ' s FirRt ^ooks 41
Dutch Bird Caf?:e 42
Peixotto at Carmel 43
"ilorte d' Arthur" 44
Peixotto Goes to South A;n rica 45
a
4
c
I
TA3LE OF CONTENTS (cont. )
PACES
Further Illustrations 46
Another Noteworthy Paintinfc 45
Tre American Artist at War 47
The Post War Fine Arts Academy I'ear ?aris 50
Peixotto ' s Famous Mural Work 51
An Irish Lardsoape in A California ^nom 52
A Nev York Hural". 53
Another Crj.if ornia Mural. . • . . ^ 54
A Mural of Great Beauty ^^ear i^lorence, Italy 55
Mural for the George Washington Bicentenary 56
Representative Works 59
Exhibitions 59
Awards 60
Illustrations 60
Clubs 80
Literary Works 61
Official Positions Held. . 61
Bibliography 62
FRANCIS JOHN iiCCOMAS 64
Youth and Early "^ra ining„ 64
Errl";^ Recoprition, . . . , 65
A Vir,lt to His Old Home 63
One-i'Ian Show Wins Glo?/ing Praise, 66
Good Fortune and ■"■ Trip to New Places 67
Great Improvement of Style Noted 67
A Society V/edd ing 68
Paintings Ccmpared to Music 69
A London Exhibition , 70
South to Santa Barbara 71
Presented at Court 71
The Adobe of the Rosebush 71
Another London T]->iu?-anh 71
The Artist Returns Home. 72
Several Month s Ir Ne^" Iv-exlco , 73
New York Exhibition 74
A Member of Monterey Society 75
The Panama-Pacific International Exr^osition 75
McGomo s Goes East ^ 78
Consolidation of Two Art Societies 78
c
c
TA3LE OF CONTENTS (cont. )
PAGES
McCon;-;B Chairman of Conmlttee to ^l(i Wfr-Strlcl^en
ArxiBtB '^9
IntPTPstlnr Comnlsslonn. . , 79
RetuL.^ to ■:?\e Dnser o 80
LlcCoiiUis ' Second Mrrrl;" ge 80
Ariother Npv; York Show, 81
A konterey Exhibition 81
Ivlrs. -"'cComoG riolcis Fi-nt Exhibition 82
An Unusual ^p.'^ if-^nnent. . . . , 82
Some Griticipm::! 83
Home Nov at Pebble Boach 84
Represf^nt-'^tive "ork.T 85
Ptrnr.ne--nt CoHeotionn 83
Private Col leoti^on^ 66
Exhibitions 86
H Honors and Awarda 87
Clubs 87
Bibliography 83
H. W. ?:ANSEN 89
Youth and Early Environi^ent 89
He Arrives in Anprioa 90
Early CriticiRin 91
Painter ' s Fir-^t Exhibition 92
Criticism of Frontier Lif o 93
Hansen in Srn Franci sco ' n Artist Colony 93
PicturevS .Sxhlbitied in the East 91
Hansen Wins -^^oclairi in -Surone 96
He Losps All In fire 96
Artit't Visits Europe 98
His Death 99
Hansen ' s Place in Art 99
Conclusio^:! 101
Hepresentative "orlzs 103
Exhibitions 103
fj Clubs 104
"^ Avrards 101
Bibliography 104
d
c
TABLK OF CONTBHTS (cent. )
PAGES
ARMIN C. HAKSEM 105
Youth and En.rl.v Snvlronrncnt 105
Life Anid -he i'lr.hprinen at I'ieuoort 106
3egdns Etching' p.r.d Wins Prize in BtusscIb 107
Re turnr; to California 109
First Sfn Frrncic.co Exhibition Praised by Criticn..., 110
Take?. Studio in the Latin 'barter 112
Opens Art Classes in Monterey 112
ArciTts Settle in Monterey ■'^eninsula 113
h Critical Appreoiatlon 116
Paint lnp:s and Etc?..ings '^'in An claim 120
Av/ardn 125
Further Criticisn. 126
Conclusion 128
Representative '^'orks 129
PeriTianent Collections 1?0
Exhibitions 130
Awards 131
Clubs 132
3ib] iography 133
0
c
RAY BOYNTON
JLooo* • • • • • • ft
Biography and Works
"FLIGHT OF HELEN"
EMKUEL WALTER COLLECTION— SAM FRANCISCO MUSEUM OF ART
<
RAY BOYNTON
Ray Boynton, today one of California's outstanding
fresco artists, a master in many mediums, an art teacher and
writer, was born of Charles Henry Boynton, and Sarah Cole
Boy«ton in 1883 upon an Iowa farm. Born a farm boy and taught
as such, to guide the plow and make his furrows straight, his
hands were those of a son of the soil, meant for gruelling
labor, yet his nimble fingers 'vere destined one day to bring
fame to that boy, then so remote from all things artistic.
From the Boynton farm near Whitten, the family mov-
ed to the farm of his grandparents near Strawberry Point, a
thriving town of some nine hundred souls. There he spent
fifteen years, doing what all farm boys do — hard work from
dawn to dark, with little to arouse his dormant talents.
While in High School in Strawberry Point, Ray often
made capable drawings, AS the Iowa school system in those
days did not include drawing, he drew for the sheer love of
artt^- the fun of recording his impressions.
Boynton also revealed a tendency toward writing and
music. He even bought a violin and spent many hours attempt-
ing to master it. He confesses he never did take a lesson.
His writing was confined to High School publications in which
he showed much skill. However, there was no influence in
Strawberry Point to guide his talents in any definite direc-
I
tion, 30 his ultimate choice of art as a career was partly
accidental, as with many youths.
CHICAGO BOUND
At the age of twenty, little Strawberry Point could
no longer hold a youth whose a.rabition3 had outgro"'n the sim-
ole town. Boynton needed more room to spread out; he had new
worlds to conav.er. So in 1903, Ray vent to Chicago, metrop-
olis of the Middle West, where fame and fortune lay. There
he would make his start; there life would really begin as he
fed his hunger for knowledge and learned all the ways and
■neans of art. His dreans though filled to the brim with ec-
stasy, met an abruot ending, when the old story, the irksome
problem of food and shelter cane from nowhere to face the
art student. As Chicago offered every opportunity for inten-
sive study, he at once began to study art, and at the same
time set out to find work. Wages, sufficient at least to keep
body and soul together, were earned during his student years
in the many different ways open to most self-educated artists.
Ke took odd Jobs of all descriptions, or part-time
work wherever he could find it. He was working as an usher
in the Iroquois Theatre at the time it burned, and was for-
tunate enough to escape with his life, altho he received burns
and lost part of his hair and eyebrows. He managed to get a
small part in the original production of "The Merry Widow"
when it first opened in Chicago, and at the same time he also
I
canvassed for the Chicago City Directory, -oainted a mural dec-
oration, and attended "life " art classes.
Boynton attended the Chicago Acadeny of Fine Arts,
then in its infancy. Here he studied under Willian P. Hender-i
son and John W. Norton, both excellent instrn.ctors. 3oynton
received his fundamental anatomy training fron W. J. Reynolds
who taught the "life" classes. This school departed radically
fron the converitiona.1 method of teachings as it gave no course
in dra^.^'ing from the antique. So os Boynton drew from classic
casts himself, in later years "'hen he taught an antique class,
he had no oreconceived ideas to overcome, and approached the
cold plaster with a fresh, open mind. Ke thus converted what
is usually a deadly bore both to student and teacher into a
sub.lect of interest.
Here in Chicago, in 1904, Boynton made his first
exhibition with the Chicago Society of Artists. Being a
young student of course, he received no memorable recogni-
tion, altho the showing definitely convinced him that his
work measured up well and art was to be his lifelong expres-
sion of his inner self, rather than writing or music. How-
ever he does v/rite occasionally, but always on the subject
of art.
BOYNTOiJ GOSS FUR'^HER WEST
While the goal of most artists is Nev; York or Paris,
a studio, and ultimately fame, with Boynton it was not so.
As yet he had little confidence in himself as an artist to
i
i
4
the extent of such a drastic move. His exT^erlence had been
United thus far, his work was unknown, and he felt his tal-
ent and training were not yet focused.
At this time he received an invitation to visit his
brother, in S^ookane, Washington. Here he cane with the hope
of broadening his scooe v'lth new surroundings, ne"' scenes to
give him tbe op^)ortunity to learn a better aporeciation of
landscar)e, for naturally the slopes of the Rocky fountain
valleys were ontirel^- different in color a,nd range than any-
thing with which he had been familiar. Here '--ere tiraberlands
never before seen by him, woodland glades that cmald strike
the fancy of an artist in search of new insioiratlon, yet
Boynton credits Spokane with small impetus for his art. Amid
the beauty of his surroundings he found no artistic stimulus,
and, except for a small group of musicians, no aesthetic life.
During the seven years that STsokane was his legal residence
he did not see a half dozen good paintings exhibited.
He kept on painting and drawing alone when he could
make the time for it, altho he again had to earn a living in
other ways. He spent one summer at extreme ohysical labor in
the wheat fields of the Big Bend country. He juggled sacks on
a threshing machine, real labor J As a rule no man, even the
hardiest, can keep at it very long. Seven men had quit the
job in as many days when Boynton tried it. He stuck to it
and won the foreman's resoect to such a degree that that per-
sonage addressed him as "mister, "
i
There vere seven years of hard manual labor of all
sorts, seven barren years in which he tried persistently to
r)aint, in spite of the frightful handicaps of calloused hands,
no encouragement, no congenial companionship, no one who sooke
his language. But that drastic period of mental and aesthetic
isolation, and continuous physical labor, did more to form
hin, to fix his direction, than any other one experience of
his life,
Amid circumstances that were discouraging to the
point of defeat, Boynton still clung to the art ideals now
firmly develor)ed in his mind, he managed somehow to teach a
small group of art students, in a semi-private way, and paint-
ed many pictures himself. ' He also did a bit of writing now
and again for local newspapers, and in art columns for pub-
lications in and around Spokane. There were some snail sales
and commissions here and there, sufficient at least to console
his efforts.
While in Spokane Boynton received his first commis-
sion of any importance an order from the Spokane High School,
to decorate a curtain for the auditorium. There was a stage
about thirty feet across and sixteen feet deep, and the nrob-
lera of painting a surface of such size was something entirely
new to him. He gave it much thought and careful consideration
and designed it as a mural decoration rather than as a cur-
tain. Boynton used tempera as his medium, and here showed
his flare for the unusual, for instead of using conventional
i
designs which would have been as acceptable, he employed fig-
ures done in daringly bold colors, a highly difficult theme
for such work. The results, however, were most gratifying,
despite the problen involved, for this curtain was used
as a background for the stage where speakers or actors would
be seen at a distance, and the figures on the curtain had to
be in agreeable proportion to the t)ersons on the stage.
BOYNTOM COKES TO SAN FRANCISCO
Circumstances again took a hand in Boynton's af-
fairs, and brought about his deliverance. He was asked to
serve on a jury in Seattle, to pass on worics of art which
were being collected there, to be sent to the Panama-Pacific
International Exioosition at San Francisco. That in its turn
led to an apoointraent to the Palace of Fine Arts, which
brought him to San Francisco in 1915. To be thrown into sud-
den contact with thousands of paintings, after so long an
isolation, was like surrounding a starving man with food.
He responded readily to the broader field of activities that
San Francisco offered and his artistic growth became rar)id
and steady.
At this time, Boynton exnerimented in pastels. He
sketched in thu grounds of the Pvanana-Pacific International
Exhibition and made a number of studies that were quickly
disposed of. Here his first important snle of five pictures
v?as made. They were oils and oastels, exhibited at the Ex-
c
position, and brought hin his first formal recognition by art
critics.
KILL TOLERTON GALLERY
The Mill Tolerton Gallery of Srn Francisco asked
Boynton to exhibit his loastels, and here he gave vhat vjas
considered the most comirehensive study seen in this medium.
His success with the local art colony ^^ns confirmed by the
follov'ing oress notice fron the "Wasn", by Blanche d'Harcourt,
art critic:
"The Hill Tolerton Galleries announce an exhi-
bition of t^^e oastels of Ray S. Boynton....
This is the most com-orehensive exhibition vre
hdve seen of this form of art and nuch pleasure
avaits the visitr^or to the gallery during this
present exhibition. These delicate, colorful
drawings are remarkably clever when one remem-
bers the limitations of colored crayons. B^r,
Boynton han^^les his medium \"ith the skill and
vigor of the painter in oils and obtains val-
ues rarely found in this pr1
Tt-
"Mr. Boynton, for a young artist, has arrived
very quickly, since this is the first com^Dre-
henslve exhibition of his v^ork ever held. A
fei'? of his pastels were hung in the Palace of
Fine Arts last year and received high praise
from his fellow artists and the oubllc at large.
But this oresent exhibition should place him In
a class by himself as an artist who has demon-
strated his ability beyond any question of a
doubt.
"Following the exhibition of Mr. Boynton' s work
will be that of Mr. Boynton 's teacher, Mr,
William P. Henderson. Mr. Henderson's exhibi-
tions will consist of paintings, pastels, and
etchings. V/e are not familiar with the work of
Henderson here in San Fmncisco, and this exhi-
bition of the master's following the pupil's is
rather unique. Having judged Mr. Boynton' s work
we will no-'' have the opportunity of finding out
c
6
8
Just where he obtained his most telling effects
by study with Mr. Henderson. "
EXPERIMENT IN FRESCO
Early in 1917, Boynton was asked to decorate the
fountain wall in the little courtyard of the Hill Tolerton
Print Rooms, Fere indeed vras a new oroblen to be reckoned
with, for the wall v;as of cement and exposed to wind and rain;
therefore not only the method of decoration but the durabil-
ity had to be considered. Weat-er affects usual pigment so
that in a short tine colors begin to fade, and in a natter
of a fev' years a painting would almost completely disinte-
grate. Here Boynton departed from the usual method of in-
door wall decoration. Instead of a mural, painted on can-
vas and then fitted to the wall space it is Intended to dec-
orate, he v;ent back to the early Italian nethod of oalnt-
Ing directly on the wall s'li'face. He found after research
that the early fresco work v^as done by Incorporating the col-
or with the fresh plaster, and the natural absorption of that
material made the work very durable. To attempt to make tem-
pera mixed v.'lth white of egg naintlng on a weatherbeaten,
seasoned wall as durable as the old Italian fresco, was very
much of a gamble. The sub.lect for his lunette was taken from
a classic myth "The Judgment of Paris".
The graceful composition of this vork brought Boyn-
ton a commission to come to Los Altos, California, to do a
wall decoration with a free hand to do as he saw fit. Here
he built a fountain and designed a panel for fresco, a dupli-
cate of which v;as later exhibited at the Palace of Fine Arts.
This being war time, permanent colors were very hard to buy.
Poor bases were used and artists bought whatever they could
find. Here his fresco experiments were vigorous; the blues
were bad, the blacks were bad, the possibility of turning out
a good olece of work seemed hopeless. Then he began making
discoveries in paint. Ke fo md that for one thing pounded
charcoal will stand weather much better than will the tradi-
tional Ivory black. Some colors would fade in a short tine
and some stand out almost as bright as the day they were ap-
plied. The possibility of the finished work being in a few
years time, a patchwork of uneven values of bright and dull
tints was disturbing. But after great effort and with the
knowledge gained through reading Cennini's '^Treatise on Pain t-
ing", written in 1437, which gave the methods employed by
G-iotto and his followers, Boynton succeeded in creating per-
manent colors and valiies so that the fresco is today, nineteen
years later, in a very good state of preservation. Boynton' s
efforts were perhaps the first successful use of fresco work
out-of-doors in California and western America.
1917 ART-.TY SERVICE
Aside from two exhibitions In San Francisco, one at
the San Francisco Art Association where he contributed twenty
paintings, and the second jury- free Exhibition where he hung
10
two more pictures, little of inportance was acconplished.
The great war was in progress, and Boynton was called to
serve his country. He vras stationed at Fort Scott, San Fran-
cisco, and for a time with the i-ecruiting service at Angel
Island, San Francisco.
In 1919 Boynton married in San Francisco, Miss
Margaret G-ough, a Canadian by birth, who unfortunately died
of tuberculosis in 1930. Boynton, with bis strongly built
physique sacrificed many painting hours to give tender nurs-
ing service to his semi-invalid "Peggy".
The only work displayed by this artist during post-
war years, was an exhibition at the De Young Museum of San
Francisco of some nine paintings. A comment on the same fol-
lows, from The International Studio, March 1919:
"In all the pictures on view there is almost
no vestige of the 'brown sauce' school of yes-
terday, and one can detect but little which is
reminiscent of Keith, Whistler, and the Barbi-
zon School, three influences which, but for a
very short time ago, dominated the California
annual exhibitions. In only a very few can-
vases, such as those of Brace Nelson, Ray Boyn-
ton, and Tatteo Sandona does one find the anti-
quated methods in use. " (This term "antiquated"
meaning, "opoosed to ultra-modernism. ")
CAMON KIP HH/iORIAL
Sometime in 1920 a dear friend of Boynton' s, the
Rev. J. H. Ohlhoff, asked him to decorate the Canon Kip Memo-
rial Chapel, This work was of religious subjects in the form
of a large mural panel above the altai; and two smaller panels
«
11
on either side. Boynton contracted this piece of work more
for friendship ttian for profit, as the Chapel was only able
to raise the sura of twenty-five dollars to compensate him.
However, the decorations stand as truly representative efforts
of Boynton' s fine sense of color and space relation in decora-
tion,
A CHANGE IN TECHNIQUE
Late in 1920 Boynton moved to Marin County, took a
house in Mill Valley, and there set to work. For over a year
he painted and ''-rote ai-iid the fascinating surroundings of
beautiful Hill Valley where so many California artists have
sketched. Here he turned his efforts to landscape painting,
and at the same tine wrote a series of articles on art for
the San Francisco Sunday Chronicle. It "'as this year that
he attained his first mature form of landscaoe work, painting
without sketches, directly from nature, and in his canvases
the trained eye could detect his sensitive feeling for color,
not-
rich and true to nature, b*ti the modern prismatic color of
broken sunlight, but the full gamut of the oil palette. The
results of this year of study were exhibited the following
year in San Francisco at the California Palace of the Legion of
Honor, His painting "The Boy", and "Mill Valley", received
popular and Just appreciation. The latter painting is now
amon^i the permanent collection of Mills College, Oakland,
California.
12
Following his Intensive outdoor study, Boynton re-
turned to San Francisco where he became a teacher in the Cali-
fornia School of Fine Arts. The 1921 Annual Exhibition of
the San Francisco Art Association found him showing two paint-
ings and in the fall show, six more pictures. Perha.r>s the
most outstanding work done by Boynton through 1920 to 1923
was the mural decoration he was commissioned to oalnt in oil
for the Bohemian Club. This was a panel five feet long and
seventeen feet high, done in the form of a portrait of St.
John of Nepomuk, who is the riatron Saint of the Bohemian
Club. This recognition stamped Boynton' s ability V(fith the
approval of many seasoned San Francisco art patrons.
The Bohemian Club at their rnnual gathering in the
grove, produced a play earlier in the year, called "St, John
of Nepomuk", which dramatized the life of this oersonage,
through enacting the scene ^'hich deoicts the martyrdom of
this Saint, in which he refuses to divulge the secret confes-
sions, and thereby loses his life at the hands of his enemies
It was the portrayal of this historic incident that
prompted the club to have this mural done in honor of their
patron Saint.
Later Boynton took p;\rt in another Bohemian Club
ceremonial, as he has done many times in recent years, when
he designed costumes for Charles Morris's play "The Rout of
the Philistines", enacted in the annual Bohemian Grove Jinx.
^
f
I
CI
I
13
Lucien Labaudt and Frank Van Sloun, California artists of
note, were in charge of arrangements.
TEACHER VS. ARTIST
During the following few years Boynton taught mnay
classes at the California School of Fine Arts, giving a great
deal of his time to students. These were crowded years in
v;hich he v;as scarcely R.'ble to devote time to his own painting,
or to keep up his writing on art subjects.
Here he met the oroblem faced by many artists, altho
many allow it to pass unnoticed. But Boynton saw plainly the
dangers that threaten a painter's career, once he becomes
deeply engrossed in either teaching or writing, and Boynton
enjoyed doing both. He feels that writing on art is very im-
portant for the artist. In this form of self-exoression, he
can freely put his thoughts in an orderly form, and discuss
matters of artistic imoortance with himself. Also he may
better understand and voice not only his own confirmed or
growing beliefs concerning art, but he can greatly enhance
his interpretation of work done by other artists and v;ord his
reactions to different mediums and manners.
Teaching, on the other hand, Boynton suggests may
be at moments constructive to the artist himself, yet it also
creates a tendency to destroy the artist. When it becomes
necessary for a creative artist to instruct along strict aca-
demic lines it is very difficult not to allow such disciplined
(
<
14
teaching to occupy too great a place in the artistic mind and
thus to obliterate his creative instincts, and destroy his
productive energy. The entire handling of the fine arts in
academic instruction is confusing to the artist, as it is oft-
en based on mathematical proportions, instead of through a
sensed rhythm and movement. Boynton can obey traffic rules
in composition and follow the scientific rules of proportion
rather than the natural and visual approach in his teaching,
but he is highly creative in his ovm work. He has never al-
lowed any traditional teaching or writing habits to invade
his canvases. Boynton' s writings have alv/ays held an admir-
able place in art circles, and have been of a highly construc-
tive and clarifying nature.
Such was the article written for "The Argus", in a
journal of art criticism and news, on "The True Nature of
Mural Painting", excerpts from "'hich follow;
"Mural painting, as it has been carried on for
a long tiite and as it is practiced generally
today, has ceased to have any vital relation
to the wall or to architecture in general,
largely, I think, because so little of it is
done on the wall. Being done always in the
seclusion of the studio, it has lost the in-
tuition of the wall and its discipline of
scale and color. This discipline of the wall —
creating in place and within the proper lim-
itations of materials and method — is perhaps
the most vital single factor in great mural de-
sign. Without these real limitations it has
become simply the large easel picture pasted on
the wall, generally a bit stilted and mannered
and self-conscious, or else with limitations
imposed on it that are so arbitrary and foreign
that they are meaningless.
i
15
"The shallo^"' worship of sunlight in landscape,
the dootrinrire ideas of 'true' color that deny
the validity of the earth colors with their som-
ber magnificence of reds and brovms, the banal
tricks of oil painting, have left us stammering
before the wall, re-oeating shopworn theatrical
commonplaces, maJ^.ing empty gestures for design,
heloless with gold, not knowing the difference
between enrichment and display, without even
the language of a design that has monumental
dignity of the authority of true decoration.
If any true monumental style is ever evolved
in this country it will have to be evolved on
the v;all, as it has been in every other in-
stance.
" One is still expected to apologize for
Idealism, even in a generation that worships at
the shrine of G-iotto. The phrase 'You must
forget most of this after you leave it', con-
veys a most damning accusation of futility.
"This conf'.ision of means and end in art is our
constant nemesis. Method accented as a disci-
pline leads to control of rhythm and substance
which perh8.ps defines technique in art, but
which is a vastly different thing from, the aca-
demicians' worship of anatomy and perspective .
Giotto and the G-othic barbarians survived some-
how without benefit of clergy, but the morbid
intensity of Botticelli, the baffling perfec-
tion of Leonardo, the turbulence of Michel-
angelo, are all reduced to — aiiatomy and per-
spective.
"Oil painting, the easel picture has been an
art without discipline for a hundred and fifty
years. The authority of the Renaissance v>fas
dead and the rubbish was swept a'vay by the
French Revolution. It was so dead that only
its tail-enders were understood, its Caraccl
and its Thiepolos.
"The traditions of oil paintings since the be-
ginning of the 19th century have been no rigid
discipline of craft to stabilize them. You
painted with medium or without, v^rith a brush or
with a palette knife, with lumps of paint or
with thinnest film, covering the canvas or leav-
ing bare patches, according to the fashion or
c
c
16
your mood. You composed this way or that way
according to rules of composition.
"The century worshipped realism and produced
impressionism; it made a fetish of anatomy and
perspective and produced Cezanne; it exalted
representation and produced the Blue Four; it
worshipDed order and produced chaos. True, it
produced some important painting, splendid lyri-
cal masterpieces and one first-rate mural paint-
er, but no tradition worthy of the name and,
contrary to popular legend, no schools — only
individuals. In spite of all the ardor that
launched impressionism, Monet long out-lived
it. Its great contribution to painting was to
sink the ship and let who could swim survive.
"It is not surprising that this anarchy pro-
duced no monumental style and only one mural
painter who knew what a wall was and approach-
ed it with some degree of reverence. Whistler,
in a delettante v/ay, discovered it while he was
dallying with the "Peacock Room" in Leyland's
house and might have given us something had he
been in a different period, or anywhere but in
England. Brangwyn has always regarded the wall
as a large place where he could display his bald
facility, often as an obstacle in which to make
a window. Puvis de Chavannes restored to the
mural painting something of the dignity of mon-
umental design. The great tragedy was that he
died before he could carry out experiments he
planned to undertake in fresco.
"The easel picture achieved its indeoendence in
the 19th century and carved cut its own destiny.
It is an intimate revelation with no organic
necessity in its size or shape and nothing which
Imposes a formal order on its design other than
its mood and content. Its whole nistory is an
escape from imposed restraints. Decorative
quality is not fundamental to its alms and is
even sometimes held in question. Too many com-
plexities of mood enter into its makeup, and
too great elasticity of method for it to gen-
erate any great formal design of large scale.
The effect of this upon mural painting has been
disastrous. The poster swaggers on the wall
masquerading as decoration, flat and tasteless.
1
17
"The decorative problem Is always real on the
wall. All that speaks with final authority on
it is sound design — spacing and movement —
rhythm. The wall exists in its own right and
is not to be ignored or violated. Its formal
order is established and its size and shaoe are
organic. Its problem is enrichment, the sof-
tening of rigidity, nobility of soacing, the
heightened reality of its presence. Content
must submit to established formal order. All
this is not readily achieved at a distance.
It has rarely been achieved anywhere but in
immediate contact with the wall. The disci-
pline of the Vk'all is an experience not discov-
ered in easel painting.
"And yet, that madness, "modern art", starting
with the easel cloture , which has turned such
acid criticism on the barren fact-painting of
the academic tradition, with omnivorous eclec-
ticism has gone to school to all the art of the
world and found more than a grain of wisdom.
It has approached "'ithout condescension the art
of savages and of civilization other than our
own, and so has learned something from them.
It may have contributed little that is new to
design, but it has become thoroughly conscious
of its importance. Full of fads and moves of
the moment, it has yet begun to evolve some
ideas of discipline. It is ripe for every ex-
perience and ready to experiment in all mate-
rials. When it has essayed the wall it has
been willing to approach it as an experience.
"In art t?iere is a fundamental dlsclDline es-
tablished in meeting one's materials ona plane
of equality, in submitting with some degree of
humility to their limits in order to discover
their possibilities. It leads to power where
an attitude of arrogance leads to frustration.
One learns the profound truths of art from
materials. It is the basis of all sound crafts-
manship and all great design. It is the se-
cret of the high perfection of medieval stained
glass and carving, and it also explains the de-
gradation of these in the 18th and 19th centu-
ries. I think it explains, more than any other
thing, the decay of mural painting in our time.
"Intimate contact vjith the wall and its m.ate-
rlals, the sobering Influence of their llmita-
<
I
18
tlons, these are experiences that may not be
arrived at vicariously, as studio decoration
attempts to arrive at thorn. In fresco, the
definite range of color, the limit of time in
v/hich an area must be completely finished;
these are limitations that are real. They im-
pose economies and austerities of design that
are the essence of style. This is the disci-
pline of the wall v.'hich we have lost, the thing
that must be exoerienced again if we are to
recover a true language of decoration on the
wall. "
MILLS COLLEGE MURALS
Bay Region art patronage, both private and institu-
tional, began to cherish Ray Boynton's v/ork. Artist and
dealer friends nromoted many lucrative commissions for Boyn-
ton — , while his popular refutation as a "real rjainter" and
master of fresco brought him other orders.
Nineteen twenty-eight saw Boynton at his best, work-
ing on a commission which he feels is his most important work,
that of the Mills College murals. Here we find six panels
six feet high and fourteen feet long, forming a frieze from
the rear of the College Auditorium to the stage. Over the
stage there is an organ loft, built to house an organ, not
yet installed. A large central mural r>8.nel sixteen feet high
and thirty six feet long was designed to be painted in tem-
pera, on a sliding screen, to be drawn back on each side, to
expose the organ. There are also eight small panels on the
side walls.
To praise this work adequately, Junius Craven's
criticism gives vivid description and appreciation. In The
Argonaut of May 26th, 1928, Junius Cravens says:
i
i
19
"One of the most important gestures that Mills
Collef-^e has made in' relation to the arts, was
when it gave its Hall of Music, now under con-
struction, into the hands of a competent artist
for the accomplishment of its wall decoration.
So far as we" know this has not been done pre-
viously by any local institution, at least not
in the intelligent extent to which it was done
by Mills College.
"Ray Boynton, who was commissioned to design
and execute the interior of the Hall of I!usic,
was retained at a sufficiently early date in
the proceedings to permit of his being able to
consult and cooperate with the architect, as
the plans for the building were being evolved.
This' is the nearest approach to an ideal work-
ing condition to which a mural decorator may
hope to aspire. It is the only intelligent way
to handle such a problem. As a result of pro-
cedure Mr. Boynton' s decorations, y«;hich are now
near completion, are a corporate part of the
room, and not the afterthought applique which
results from the stupid and illogical tactics
usually employed in such cases.
"Mr. Boynton has wisely chosen fresco as his
medium. So far as we are able to ascertain his
are the first fresco oaintings to be installed
in any institutional, or public building on this
coast of the United States. As a result of the
methods he has selected, Mr. Boynton' s decora-
tions have grown with the actual construction
of the walls o^ the building, another factor
which contributes materially to their being a
corporate part of the interior of the room.
"Mr. Boynton is an incomparable colorist, and
his sense of decorative values renders him e-
qual to such an opportunity. His paintings on
the walls of the Hall of Music are, as a whole,
quite beautiful. He has evolved compositions
of nude figures and landscapes from abstract
themes. In them he has succeeded remarkable in
keeping his nudes completely impersonal, almost
sexless, in the classic sense. He has carefully
avoided the use of literal suggestion and the
banal, hackneyed subjects. If he has sought to
Interpret anything describable it is the two
principal emotions expressed by music, which are
joy and sorrow. These emotions are so remotely
<
20
suggested as to be negligible qualities in his
calculations. The extraordinary thing about
the panels is that, while they are neither lit-
eral, nor, in some cases, even symbolic, they
are as expressive of music as two-dimensional
color organisations may be. "
CAmiEL
In the spring of nineteen twenty-nine Boynton mov-
ed to Camel and Joined the famous artist and writer colony
there. Carmel since 1900 has been known as a haven for paint-
ers, some seeking the beauty and isolation in which to paint
undisturbed; others find the art life congenial amid a truly
ideal location. Here Boynton made his cartoons and sketches
for mural commissions from two San Francisco patrons; th«
Associated Charities Building and the beautiful decoration,
done in encaustic, now gracing the dining room wall of the
Mark Hopkins Hotel on Nob Hill. Here also he studied the
landscape and ocean cliffs, so much admired by California
artists, and the following; fall displayed his interpretations
in oil.
The results of his lorolific work that year were
shown at the Beaux Arts Gallery in San Francisco, and at the
fifty-first Annual San Francisco Art Association Exhibit.
In The Argonaut of November 23, 1929, Junius Cravens
writes:
"The G-alerie Beaux Arts is housing an extensive
and varied collection of works in many mediums,
the principal feature of which is an exhibition
of more than fifty oils, water colors, temperas,
pastels, wood engravings, and block prints by
Ray Boynton.
I
21
"Boynton seems to have entirely departed from
the more stylized vein in which he was former-
ly wont to work, and has reverted to the more
realistic form of landscape painting, in both
oils and water-colors. But his Inherent dec-
orative sense still predominates, as it always
will, his compositions; his color, though less
warm in general than it once was, has become
greatly enriched, and his use of the various
mediums, in which he works is, of course, mas-
terful.
"Of the small group of oils which Boynton is
showing, 'Artichoke Fields' is probably the
outstanding effort. The flat, receding patch-
work of lush fields, together with the softly
folded hills beyond, comprise with convincing
solidity, and one which reflects to an extra-
ordinary degree the character of the local coun-
tryside.
"In 'Hatton Ranch' he has also caught a great
deal of local charm, a cluster of homely build-
ings forming the central foreground, with a
range of darkly alluring hills beyond, steeped
in luscious evening color.
"These two oils, together with the smaller can-
vas 'Carm.el River Month in Spring', form a tri-
logy, as it were, which epitomizes California
landscape,
"The only decorative painting in the collection
is 'Virgin at Point Sur' , a subject which Boyn-
ton has experimented with and made several ver-
sions of in wood engravings, pastel and other
media, two of which are also included in the
current exhibition. The work as a whole, has
a decided mural quality, the treatment resem-
bling to some extent, that of fresco painting.
'The Virgin at Point Sur' is not a large canvas,
but it is, in our opinion, the finest work of
this type which Boynton has yet produced. If
we were* collecting, it would be our choice of
them all. "
The following three years Boynton saw much the same
activity in new work and large exhibitions. The San Francisco
Art Association's yearly exhibit finds Boynton usually repre-
22
sented with several fresh canvases. He kept on with his art
writing, this time for the Art Association Bulletin, and con-
tributed to the Argus, a monthly art journal. His most im-
portant commission during this period was the decoration of
the University of California Faculty Club, in Berkeley;- this
he did in his now famous medium, fresco. During this time
(1930) he met and married his present wife, Kathleen Mains.
A STPANaE MEDIUM
Being an artist of many moods, and master of many
mediums, Boynton is always ready to meet the artistic situa-
tion with whatever medium is necessary. He works deftly in
oil, water-color, or temnera, — or sketches perhaps in pastel
or pencil. Whether a mural decoration is to be fresco or en-
caustic, he is equally well equipped to handle the materials
and fill the space interestingly. To add another medium to
the unusual versatility of this artist, we find him commis-
sioned to design and execute a decorative panel in mosaic for
Mr. C. E. S. Wood, of Los Gatos, California. Again Junius
Cravens describes a development in Boynton 's work in The
Argonaut of December 16, 1932:
"Ray Boynton has recently designed a decorative
panel in mosaic for Charles Erskine Scott Wood
and Sarah Bard Field, and installed it in the
patio at 'The Cats', their Los Gates home. The
unveiling took place there a week ago Sunday.
Though the employment of that medium was entire-
ly new to him, Boynton has handled his problem
most expertly, and to our mind, has proven con-
clusively that true mosaic (not painted) , as a
i
i
J
23
medium for exterior decoration, may be far su-
perior to either fresco or encaustic.
"Having used varying tones of marbles as far as
possible, in developing his design, the earth
colors harmonize with the architectural setting
to a degree that would be impossible for any
form of painting or for artificially colored
tiles. In this instance, Boynton has employed
only a minor proportion of glazed tiles, in
blues and greens, for definition and contrast.
The design is broad, simple and vigorous. Al-
together, Boynton' s first mosaic is a noble ex-
TDeriment — and an amendment which, we feel sure,
will never be repealed. "
NEVADA CITY, 1952
In the following summer Boynton sketched in and a-
round Nevada City and the old mining towns. Here he had a
friend, an air-conditioning expert, v/ho Vv'as inspecting the
mines in that country, and through this friend he was given
permission to be lowered into the old Empire Mine, to paint
in the dark labyrinth. These pictures were shown that fall
at the Annual Art Association exhibition in San Francisco.
It was not strange that Boynton was the first artist who at-
tempted work under these conditions, for he has always been
open to new experiences, to tests of stamina in art endeavor,
and an exponent of any untried means.
"Downieville", one of the series of canvases re-
sulting from this trip, was shown in several exhibitions in
San Francisco and received high praise wherever it was shown.
Boynton 's records are authentic representations of
the ghost towns of the old west which will so soon pass from
i
i
24
viev:. The grand old Courthouse at Nevada City, when painted
by Boynton on this trip, vfas a thing of artistic and romantic
beauty. Today it has a "beautifying" coat of stucco; its
glamour gone.
Boynton was among the first of recent California
artists who captured the romantic landmarks of California's
gloi'ious youth on canvas, before modernization and so-called
"progress" completely change the western scene. Boynton
tells of a painting he made near Downieville. The scene is
now almost unrecognizable, for a nev/ concrete bridge has been
erected directly at the point his picture war, made. Of the
work displayed by Eoynton on his return from Nevada City, The
San Francisco News of December 25, 1935 offers apress notice:
"The Art Center, 730 Montgomery Street, San
Francisco, is presenting a one-man shovj of
pastels and drawings by Ray Boynton. During
the past summer Eoynton rained the mining towns,
so to speak, for subject matter for his new
works. The result is a large number of what
might be termed illustrations of the life, or
perhaps, one should say, the absence of life
in such places as Columbia, Jamestown, ■ and
Nevada City.
"At Grass Valley, Boynton went down into the
shafts for three thousand feet, and found there
a busy world. He is said to be the first art-
ist A'Vho has ever been permitted to make sketches
of the mine and its activity. Boynton has in-
terpreted the mine and raining town scenes sim-
ply, perhans literally, and vfithout dramatiza-
tion. Above all, he has avoided developing a
thesis. His pastels are done with restrained,
but, at times, exceptionally beautiful color."
4
i
25
CO IT TOWER
In nineteen thirty-three Mr. Boynton received a
coranission to do some fresco murals for the new Coit Tower,
on Telegraph Hill, in San Francisco. The one thing that
brings this effoi-t unusual note, is the fact that, when the
Colt Tower murals were being done, twenty artists worked on
the many inner-walls, all doing fresco,
A job of obis size could not readily be done in the
eastern United States, for fresco work is not so well known
there, and seldom taught. But it happens that Boynton taught
a special class here in 1926 in fresco technique and method
and since that time many of his students develoned great
fresco skill, so when a. call came for twenty fresco artists,
many of his former students were found capable of handling
the assignment. Vvhile the fresco enthusiasts had a glorious
gambol on the Coit Tower walls, the local press ran endless
columns of dubious cor.ment on the real aesthetj.c value of
their subjects and renderings. Students who had learned
fresco from Diego Rivera, in Mexico City, produced themes of
modern turmoil, sneed and the machine age. Boynton 's influ-
ence, too, towards an indigenous art began to be felt here.
The 1935 San Francisco Art Association Exhibition
presented Boynton in excellent mood. Here he was well repre-
sented with a portrait intempera called "Girl Eating Grapes",
26
which was posed for by his wife, Kathleen. For thi. 3 he was
given the Anne Bremer Memorial Prize, an award of three hun-
dred dollars.
During 1936, Boynton is working on twelve lunettes,
for the Post Office at Modesto, California. These depict in
splendid choice, the representative industries of that com-
munity. Here again, he shows his never failing care in hand-
ling his subject matter. The cartoons themselves, from which
the mural work is done, are works of art; some in v/ater-color,
and some in pastel. In those panels now completed of the
group, Boynton has given careful study to every phase of the
subject matter he is depicting. His keen insight into the
natural forces and resources of Nature, the productivity of
the soil, and the values of industry and agriculture are
self-evident.
THE INTERVIEWER SPEAKS
In conclusion lot me say that Boynton' s work al-
ways bears out his personal philosophy, as he has expressed
it to me in these words, "Art is either a business problem,
or, it is a way of life. To me it is a way of life. "
27
RAY BOYMTON
REPRESENTATIVE
WORKS
Curtain In Tempera, Spokane, Washington, 1914
Vanity, Pan •^.ma-Pacific International Exoositlon,
San Frencisco, 1915
Young Diana, Panama-Pacific International
Exposition, San Francisco, 1915
Eve, Panarra-Pacific International Exposition,
San Francisco, 1915
A Boy, Panama-Pacific International Exposition,
San Francisco, 1915
Spokane Valley, Panama-Pacific International
Exposition, San Francisco, 1915
Canon Kip Memorial Mural, San Francisco, 1920
Mount Tamalpais, Mill Valley, California, 1921
St. John of Ncpomuk, Bohemian Club, San Francisco,
1922
Mosaic In home of Charles Erskine Scott Wood,
Los Gatos, California, 1932
Jlills College Murals, Oa'-iland, California, 1928
Encaustic, for Mark Ho'Dkins Hotel, San Francisco,
1929
Virgin of Point Sur, Carmel, California, 1929
Artichoke Fields, Carmel, California, 1929
Downieville, Dovmieville, California, 1932
G-irl Eating Grapes, Berkeley^ California, 1935
28
PERI'.IA.NENT COLLECTIONS:
San Francisco, California:
The Emanuel Walter Collection
Bohemian Club Art Gallery
De Young Museum Art Gallery
Oakland, California:
Mills College Art Gallery
EXHIBITIONS:
AWARDS:
San Francisco, California:
Panama-Pacific International Exposition,
1915 (pastel)
Hill Tolerton Gallery, 1915 (pastel)
Palace of Fine Arts, 1917 (panel-fresco)
De Young Museum, 1919 (oil)
Palace of the Legion of Honor,
1920 (landscape)
Beaux Arts Gallery, 1929 (oil)
The Art Center, (One-man Show), 1935
San Francisco Art Association, 1935
Every Local Annual since 1918
Anne Bremer Memorial Prize. 1935
CLUBS:
Member:
San Francisco Art Association
San Francisco Beaux Arts Association
California Society of Mural Artists (Head)
Bohemian Club
29
RAY BOYNTON
BIBLIOGRAPHY
American Art Annual, Vol. XXX, Page 439
The Wasp, April 21, 1917
International Studio, Vol. 67, March 1919
The Argonaut
May 26, 1928
November 23, 1929
December 16, 1932
School of Arts Magazine, Vol. 28, May 1929
The San Francisco News, December 1935
i
i
I
ERN. EST CLIFFORD PEIXOTTO
XOOt!7» • • • • • • •
Biography and V/orks
"THE LONG RANGE"— UPPER LAKE OF KILLARNEY
MURAL— CALIF. RESIDENCE OF t'R. Sr MRS. WILLIAM B. BOURN
30
ERNEST CLIFFORD PEIXOTTO
In the late 1850' s, In California, there came to
San Francisco- a young man and his wife, Raphael and Myrtilla
Peixotto. Raphael's father was a well known attorney in New
York City, but evidently that profession did not appeal to
the son, for he made his way West to become a merchant,
Raphael and Myrtilla had reason to be proud of
their family, for all of them were one day to become famous
and bring glory to the name of Peixotto.
Sidney, the first son, became Major Peixotto, famed
as the creator of the Columbia Park Boys Regiment and Band.
The San Francisco boys, whom he trained and brought to a
high state of perfection in their work, traveled the world
over displaying their talents.
Jessica, the only daughter, vras for many years
active in social work in San Francisco, She was a member of
the faculty of the University of California, from which she
graduated in 1894, receiving her Ph.D. Degree in 1900. She
later studied at the Sorbonne, in Paris, France. She was a
member of the Charities Endorsement Committee, an associate
of the San Francisco Settlement Council, and the Associated
Charities. Jessica later became a lecturer and taught at
the University of California. She is the a"uthoress of sev-
eral well known books, among v;hich are "The French Revolu-
tiion" and "Modern French Socialism."
f\
31
Eustace, another son, is a Captain in the United
States Army.
On October fifteenth, 1869, Ernest Clifford Peix-
otto, a third son, was born in San Francisco, destined to
become the most famous member of this remarkable family.
HIS E-ARLY TRA-ININa
In 1872, due to the untiring efforts of William Al-
vord, the San Francisco Art Association saw its beginning,
and tv/o years later as a natural consequence the Mark Hop-
kins Institute of Art was organized. Twleve years after its
inception the School of Fine Arts had already achieved an
enviable reputation, numbering among its early students such
names as Toby Rosenthal, Matilda Lotz, John Stanton, Alexan-
der Hamilton and Evelyn ii'IcCormick. It was hei-e that Ernest
Peixotto in 1866 entered the classes that were to train the
hand and mind of this talented youth, so th^t he not only
made a name for himself, but reflected the greatest credit
upon those teachers from whom he received his early training.
Ernest never tired of acknowledging the great good
derived from his schooling under Smil Carlsen, not only one
of the greatest sti3.1-life painters, but a peculiarly strong
and effective teacher. The young Calif ornian' s artistic tem-
perament received encouragemgnt from everything, and his was
32
such a nature that a man of Carlsen's communicative force
found him most congenial to v/ork with.
During Ernest's first year of study at the Insti-
tute he made the acquaintance of Frank Morris, v/ho was to be-
come later a world renowned author. It is not generally
known that Norris studied Art seriously before he turned to
writing as a career. Peixotto and Norris often had gone to
the Presidio Military Reservation in San Francisco, where in
the Cavalry Barracks they sketched the restless horses, at-
tempting to catch the movements of their heads, knee joints,
and flexible fetlocks.
The friendship that developed between these two
young students continued unbroken until the death of the
famed author in San Francisco, due to an acute appendecitis
attack, at the age of thirty- two.
THE LARK
Shortly before going to Paris to further his art
training Ernest, for the first time, attracted the atten-
tion of the local art circles in San Francisco, by his ar-
tistic work in connection v/ith "The Lark, " an airy publica-
tion created by G-elett Burgess. Ernest did the illustra-
tions and cover designs for this little magazine, which
enjoyed a very profitable existence.
33
PARIS
In 1888, at the age of nineteen Ernest made his
way to Paris, to further his art studies in this cradle of
culture. Here he could work under the guidance of the
greatest artists and instructors of the day. It was in
the Academie Julien, w'nich enjoyed a world wide reputation,
that Ernest Peixotto received his most valuable training.
Here he studied for three years under Jules Lefev-
bre and Benjamin Constant, who were two of the most effi-
cient and conscientious instructors in Paris. During these
years Ernest also attended ^t times the Ateliers de Peinture,
Sculpteur et Dessin, known to everyone through "Trilby,"
At the same time Frank Norrls decided to study art
in Paris. He also attended the Acade:nie Julien, and once
again these two bosom friends attended classes together.
Here they went on sketching tours to the Artillery Museum in
the Hotel des Invalides, and made drawings of the lances and
bucklers, and corselets, and the Italian suits-of-mall as
well as the rich trappings of the horses. Norrls became so
deeply interested in these things that he decided to paint a
large historic plctiire of the Battle of Crecy. Norrls work-
ed Industriously on this canvas but one night became so dis-
couraged with it that he decided to abandon the effort.
Peixotto and another young art student, G-uy Rose, were visit-
ing Norrls at the time and the huge canvas was offered to
them.
34
A piece of equipment of that l^-lnd, to a pair of
Latin quarter art students was as a Gift from the gods, and
they were thrilled with the prospect of working on the great
canvas. Exactly what became of it is not known.
His years in Paris had a vei-y definite influence
on Peixotto's later work. In the quiet valleys in and around
G-everney he spent one summer sketching nature in intimate
form. Peixotto had the natural ability to absorb the scene
about him and to reproduce it. His v/ork then was done, with
infinite care, so that the finished painting was complete in
every respect, and no detail was left to the imagination.
PARIS SALON
In the spring of 1890, v/hcn the Paris Salon open-
ed, Peixotto, although only twenty-one years old, grasped at
this opportunity to exhibit. His extreme youth, and his com-
paratively limited experience, made this a "Coup de Main";
however his intensive study prior to the Salon showing had
produced a greatly admired oil entitled "Le Vieux G-arde de
Chasse." This was a simple peasant scene, the figure of a
man sitting before a fire, in a quiet farm house.
Again in 1891 he displayed a painting of a dimly
lit church interior, sparsely dotted with figures, and full
of devotional sentiment called "Dans L'Eglise," These works
were both well received, the latter subsequently being ex-
hibited at the Society of American Artists in New York City..
M'
35
When Peixotto returned home late that fall he was
heralded as one of the rising young artists of the country.
In San Francisco he successfully exhibited at Vickery's Gal-
lery. A press notice concerning this appeared in the Argo-
naut of September 18, 1893, Page 10:
"It VvTill certainly be of interest to art lov-
ers to know that Ernest C. Peixotto is to give
an exhibition of paintings and sketches in oil,
pastel, and pen and ink at Vickery's Gallery
in 224 Post Street during the next three weeks.
Mr. Peixotto is a young Californian who has won
honor and fame abroad by his excellent Vi/ork,
and is soon to return to Europe to seek higher
honors. His paintings have been exhibited in
the Paris Salons cf 1890 and 1891 and his mas-
ters were Banjainin Constant and Jules Lefebvre,
His French landscapes that are exhibited were
done in 1889 and 1890, chiefly from subjects
in Normandy, and his California landscapes have
been the work of the past sum:Tier. Visitors are
velcome at the gallery and they will find much
to admire in Mr. Peixotto' s collection.*'
While in San Francisco Peixotto again renewed his
friendship with Frank Norris, who had definitely given up
art and was now making a name for himself as an author,
Norris 's first story "The Jongleur of Taillebois, " was il-
lustrated by Peixotto, this being one of his first assign-
ments. It appeared in the Christmas number of the "Wave," a
local weekly in San Francisco,
Before his return to France in 1895, Peixotto ex-
hibited at the World's Fair in Chicaf^'O, 1893, and received
high praise for his work from critics.
'$•
36
PARIS 1895
At the annual Paris Salon in 1895 Peixotto brought
forth a remarkable oil entitled "Woman of Rijsoord." This
was a study of a Dutch woman's head in dark subdued grays
against a very settled background, a quiet color scheme, the
head somewhat that of a Madonna. For this painting ho re-
ceived the Mention Honorable. The painting was later sent
to the National Academy in New York City.
HOME A&AIN
Upon his return once more to San Francisco, short-
ly after this exhibj.tion, Peixotto established a studio in
the local artists quarter. He at once set to work on sev-
eral portraits to be entered in the fall exhibition of the
Mark Hopkins Art Institute show.
When the exhibit opened Peixotto h^'.ng a delightful
portrait of a Miss Lewis of Nev/ Haven. A Blonde girl with a
quaint puritan face, wearing a dark cloak on a dull back-
ground. Tlrje portrait was framed in ebony and attracted much
admiration.
Peixotto had for several years been quite active
in the Bohemian Club of San Francisco, and when the Club put
on its annual Jinx, he was called upon to paint a cartoon
for the ceremonial. The subject of the Jinx was to be "Tril-
by, " and the picture was done as an apotheosis of Trilby in
oils. In the play "Svengall" Peixotto took the role of Lit-
37
tie Billie, the Jinx being more or less of a travesty on the
original Du Maurier's story of Trilby,
His recent successful exhibitions in. Paris had
filled Peixotto's thoughts with the notion of "art for art's
sake," which he found very soon did not bring in a definite
income, so he turned his efforts toward Illustrating. Kis
success in this was phenomenal. Professor Samuel Jacques
Brun, of the Stanford University in Palo Alto, California,
was among the first to acquire Peixotto's services as an il-^
lustrator. For Brun's "Tales of Languedoc, " he drew forty
or more illustrations, dealing with folk-lore stories in the
south of France.
NSW YCRK
In 1897 Peixotto again left San Francisco bound
for New York, where he was engaged as an illustrator for
some time.
He became a member of the art staff fcr Scribner's
and Harper's Magazines, and in the spring that followed he
settled himself for a full year of this congenial work for
Henry Cabot Lodge, who at the time was writing "The Story of
the Revolution. " Before doing even a minor sketch for this
great task, the illustrator made it his business to visit
each scene to be reproduced personally, so that in his bat-
tlefield pictures, every detail v/ould be historically correct.
38
Peixotto was thorough and strictly authentic to
the core, once he took an assignment. Nothing was left to
guess work, and this effect was always evident in his finish-
ed work. His ability as an illustrator became in such de-
mand, that his commissions were abundant. Unlike many other
noted artists, Peixotto not only gained fame but fortune as
well for he always received adequate renuraeration for his
efforts.
About this time he did the sketches for Robert
Louis Stevenson's "Letters," and illustrated four other books
by several American authors of prominence.
Peixotto recognized that illustration differs from
other forms of art expression. When a picture is reproduced,
to be examined close at hand, there can be no hiding of care-
less or incompetent drawing, Peixotto therefore took extreme
care in his illustrations and was eopecially noted for his
architectural sketches.
PEIXOTTO MARRIES
On January twenty-eighth 1897, Ernest married Mary
G, Hutchinson, in New Orleans. Bilrs . Peixotto was also an
artist of ability. Her art training had been under Emil
Carlsen, Ernest's former instructor, at the Atelier Delecluse,
in Paris, France. She exhibited many times in New York City,
and in many other places. She was an active member in the
39
National Association for Women Painters and Sculptors, a mem-
ber of the School Board of the Art League, and the School of
Applied Design for Women, She had the great distinction of
receiving the Cross of the Legion of Honor, from the Govern-
ment of France. Mrs. Peixotto was also known for her writ-
ing, contributing at times to several eastern periodicals,
anoth2:r SUR0P3AI': visit
Two years following his marriage, Peixotto took
his wife on a sketching trip through Touraine, France ..
His fondness for architectural studies drev/ him to
the beautiful Loire valley vi^here he made sketches of the ro-
mantic Chateaux there, and of the magnificent Cathedrals.
He had not traveled long through Southern France, before he
was called to Englo.nd to execute fifty illustrations for
Roosevelt's "Life of Cromwell."' Once again Peixotto made an
intensive study of the historic backgrounds for his illustra-
tions. So they spent some time in England as the logical
place to acquaint himself with the English architecture and
costumes of Cromwell's time.
LADY IN YELLOW
The following winter found Peixotto once more in a
Paris studio, hard at work on "Lady in Yellow," one of his
most notable paintings. It is a woman's figure v;ith back
turned, looking into a hand mirror, dressed in lemon yellow
40
sntln, of brilliant texture, an orange corsage, cand slippers
of the same hue. This painting, after being exhibited In
Paris, v/as sent to the San Frajiclsco Art Association Show of
1903, to be shown there that spring. Mrs. Phoebe Hearst, the
v/ell known art patron, purchased It for her famous art col-
lection. It was later sent by special request to exhibitions
in Chicago and Philadelphia.
While traveling in the French Riviera, and along
the shores of the Mediterranean, Pelxotto drew illustrations
for magazine articles written by Mrs. Edith Wharton, about
quaint, out of the way places in the old v/orld, v/hich appear-
ed in American periodicals in 1903. As he was on the por-
menent art staff for Scribner's Magazine, he received an
assignment to cover the Paris Exposition and contributed an
article with fifteen illustrations. Later he traveled
through the picturesque villages of France writing articles
and illustrating them. One of these subjects was a little
fishing village near Marseilles. He then went to Italy,
staying for a time in the Italian Riviera near Genoa, at a
little town called Rapallo, about which he v/rote another ar-
ticle for Scribner's.
The spring that followed found him among the Flor-
entine Galleries and the summer he devoted to a driving trip
from Turin to Verona, illustrating the scenes enroute. Later
in the year he went to Venice, and then toured through Dal-
41
matia, later visiting Naples, Sicily, Malta, and Tunis, writ-
ing and sketching along the way. The outstanding works done
on this trip were "Cliff Dwellers," "I.Iarionettes, " "Erasmus
and the Cloister," "Impressions of Dalmatia, " and "An Artist's
Impressions of Malta."
••>> '■'■
PEIXOTTO'S FIRST 300KB
Pelxotto's first book "By Italian Seas," was writ-
ten by him while touring through the old v;orld, and deals
with the country bordering on the Italian Riviera. It con-
tains eighty illustrations which he executed v;hlle on his
travels. His second book "Through the French Provinces,"
contains eighty-five illustrations. Upon his return to Amer-
ica again in 1906, two exhibitions were held in New York of
his old v;orld paintings, and by special request these pic-
tures were sent for exhibition to the Art Institute, Chicago,
the Detroit Museum of Art, and the Toledo Museum of Art.
From 1907 to 1908 he was an instructor in the Art Institute
of Chicago, and in 1909 was made an associate of the Nation-
al Academy.
An intervieiv given to Hanna Astrup Larsen, of the
San Francisco Call on June 24th 1907, is quoted as follov;s:
"ERNEST PEIXOTTO TELLS OF HIS WORK IN THE OLD WORLIi"
"If you ask me what I consider my real hone I
should say that ny heart was in California. I
admit it looks bad that I have not been here
for three years and a half, but it is not be-
42
cause I have not planned to come again and a-
galn. Last year my plans were fully matured,
when there were developments in my work that
prevented me from leaving. I have had some
good fortune lately; my exhibitions have sold
well, and my book, "By Italian Seas," was some-
thing of a success, so naturally I am very hap-
py about it. I wish I would stay in Califor-
nia always but I feel that I must get back to
the East. I may exhibit here; hov;ever the Art
Institute of Chicago has asked me to exhibit
there in the autumn and will give me a room
which I can fill as I wish. At the same time
I am to give lectures to the students."
DUTCH BIRD CAGE
Following his San Francisco visit, and his return
to the East, Polxotto v/ent once more to Europe. He immedi-
ately set to work on an oil entitled "The Dutch Bird Cage."
This he painted in the Paris studio of a Flemish artist,
which largely accounts for the quaint interior, the softly
modulated play of light and shadow, and the excellent treat-
ment of the figure. After a successful exliibition in Paris
this work of art was sent to the National Academy of Design
in New York City to be displayed there.
While in Europe this time, Peixotto contributed to
Scribner' s the following illustrated articles, "Around Mess-
ina and Reggio," "Land of the Troubadors," and "Unfrequented
Chateau near Fontainebleau. " On his return later in 1909, he
wrote "Notable Paintings in the Seattle Exposition" and
"King's Highway in California," both for Scribner's Magazine.
43
PSIXOTTO AT CARMEL
In September, a year later Ernest Journeyed to Mon-
terey, California. Instead of opening a studio in Carmel as
is usual among artists v/ho work in that locality, Peixotto
had in mind to camp near the ocean shore, and do his paint-
ing in the nearby Cypress Groves, made universally famous by
numerous artists. He found, to his bitter disappointment,
that in this section no camping is permitted and there were
no residents v/ith v/hom he might stay. The only house in the
G-rove v/as occupied by the State Forester in charge. Obtain-
ing permission from this forester to stay near there, Peix-
otto pitched his tent at some distance from the house, and
made arrangements to take his meals with the family.
From Peixotto 's personal accounts of this interest-
ing trip, the following is quoted:
"I spent the first evening stretching canvases,
and then turned in . I was up very early in the
morning, and with my sketching traps, was soon
out on Pescadero Point. Weeks of v;ork now en-
sued until I grew to knov; the form of every
rock, the thrust of every tree, the changing
aspects of sky and sea, the cool gray sunrises,
and the warm ruddy sunsets. In these spots
far down the road, ' near the breakers, not a.
soul came to intrude, not a voice but the great
voice of Nature disturbed the eternal solitude.
By the v/ater's edge little forests of sea palms
reared their floxiblo stems, yielding as the
waves drove in, and as the rushing waters re-
ceded, straightened u":), end shaicing their hair
like so many mermaids in the surf* Of all the
features of "che coast; unique of their kind are
those fantastic cypresses that clothe its rocky
44
promontories with their strange growth, strong,
durable as the rocks themselves, built to re-
sist the stoutest gale. Away from the shore
they grow more reasonable spreading their tops
like giant umbrellas, full, thick, and resist-
ant, and of a rich velvety green. Dut close to
shore their lives are spent in constant battle
with the v.'lnd, their young shoots lopped off,
killed by the blast on the seaward side, forc-
ing their growth constantly landward, and giv-
ing them a strange fleeting movement, that to
my mind is their salient characteristic. If
these trees are weird in the daytime, if their
writhing forms stimulate the imagination in
the fog, it is toward evening and at night,
that they become positively unearthly. As I
left the last Cypress behind, for the G-rove
ends at this point, and came upon the dunes, I
perceived ray friend the forester, fighting sin-
gle-handed a vast forest fire. Coatless, and
hatless I pitched In with him and we worked to-
gether for hours lighting counter fires, dig-
ging trenches, or beating the blazing grass
with green pine boughs, until at length, relief
came from town in the shape of a score of stal-
wart men. Then in September came the day when
the South-lire st winds blew;. next morning I awoke
to hear rain pattering on the dry leaves. The
long summer drought was broken, the rainy sea-
son was at hand. "
Before being called East to an important mural dec-
oration, Peixotto wrote one of his best known books, called
"Romantic California," dealing, as the name implies, with
the early days of the G-olden West.
"MORTE D' ARTHUR"
Early in 1911, he received a commission from Mr.
Henry A. Everett to do a mural for the spacious private li-
brary in his home In Cleveland, OhiOo This work, the "Morte
d' Arthur" later became known as one of his most notable mu-
rals.
45
PEIXOTTO &05S TO SOUTH AMERICA
Traveling to out-of-the-v;ay places in the world
was al\mys a hobby with Pelxotto, and fooling the travel
urge once again, he and his wife set out for South America.
There in the land of the G-aucho and the Pampas, they travel-
ed dovm the west coast to Lima, and then struck out into the
interior, across Titicaca, and then to the south. During
this trip he wrote and illustrated many articles dealing
with his travels, some of which were, "Across Titicaca," and
"To South Peru and the Arequipa."
Upon his return to San Francisco ho received v;ldc
press notices, among which was the following:
The San Francisco Call, September 1, 1912.
"Ernest Peixotto has gone to San Ysidro ranch
to finish the drawings for his next book. This
book by the way, is to deal with certain phases
of South America, in much the same way that "3y
Italia.n Seas" and 'Romantic California' dealt
with their respective subjects. Pel::otto gath-
ered the material on a recent journey through-
out the Southern Continent, and he has set him-
self to the formidable task, not only of com-
pleting the v^riting of the book, but of finish-
ing the two hi;.ndred illustrations it is to con-
tain. This means that, for the present at least
he will' be unable to do any painting, he expects
however, to return to work at his easel vmen he
goes back to New York."
Following his South American trip Peixotto return-
ed to Italy and there made many sketches of Italian subjects
which, in the following winter, v/ere used in a large mural
decoration, which was exhibited at the New York Architect-
ural League. This mural was purchased by Charles Piatt, the
46
well known New York architect, and was placed in a building
being built by him for a client, Mr. Piatt was known to ex-
ercise extreme care in selecting decorative v;ork to grace the
walls of his buildingSs and his choice of Peixotto's mural
for this purpose, was a well deserved compliment.
FURTHER ILLUSTRATIONS
For several years preceding the great war, Peix-
otto was kept busy writing and painting in his studio, and
at home. During these years he had published an artistic
criticism entitled, "The Fragonard Masterpieces in the Morgan
Collection," and illustrated the book, "Cadenabbia, " for
Mary Wadding ton, the well known authoress.
Again he wrote articles on his European travels,
mainly through Spain and Portugal, some of which vere "Lisbon
and Contra," "North Portugal and its Romarios, " and "Portu-
gal's Battle Abbeys."
ANOTHER NOTEWORTHY PAINTING
To the Panama Pacific International Exposition in
San Francisco, in 1915, he sent a painting entitled, "The
Pool, La Granja, " which was very well received. A year lat-
•er he wrote an absorbing article the "Taos Society of Art-
ists," which is highly descriptive of Indian Dife, and deals
with the art center near Santa Fe, in the great Southwest.
At this time he also wrote and illustrated "Cur Hispanic
Southwest, ^ "Along the Mexican Border, " "Charm of New Or-
leans. " "City of Holy Faith," and "Old Texan Capitol."
..=,-,». -!.■>..
47
THE AIvIERICAN ARTIST AT WAR
At the beginning of the great war, Pelxotto was
living in France, and in the fourth month of that tragic pe-
riod he returned to the United States with his mind filled
v/ith thoughts which were soon expressed in his article that
appeared in the May 1st issue of Scribner's Magazine. The
following has been taken from this article, entitled:
SPECIAL SSRVIGES FOR ARTISTS IN WAR TIME. "
"....The French Government awalcened to the fact
that the artists of its country should not be
sacrificed, that there were very useful things
that they could do. So it directed its efforts
toward employing them in work for v/hich they
were especially fitted. It sont the more vig-
orous ones to the front wj.th special permits
from the War Department, to make sketches from'
life scenes in the trenches, in the avantpostes,
in the hospitals, on the battle-fields, and in
ruined villages. Many wore employed in making
topographical drawings, and those who remained
behind the lines worked for the great propaganda,"
It was on April 27, 1917, that the artists of Amer-
ica mobilized at the request of Mr. George Creel, Chairman of
the Committee on Public Information. The Division of Picto-
rial Publicity was born of this appeal, and Charles D. Gibson
was appointed Chairman, and at that instant some of the Amer-
ican artists entered the World War.
The prim.e idea of this propaganda organization was
to create public sentiment favorable to the success of the
allied cause and the prosecution of the wa.r. The artist v;as
urged to depict in his work the sacrifices of war and like
propaganda, to instill into the people the courage to carry
4B
on, and to whip the emotions of a naturally peaceful peop].e
into a frenzy of patriotic spirit, and at the same time pic-
ture the psychology behind the demands made to the public.
All of this work however, was not to be done at home, and
when the American Army went to France, Pcixotto was also
called to serve his country. Under an order from John J.
Pershing, Mr. Gibson's Comraj.ttee was offered eight Captains
commissions. The ultimate selection of this group was left
to the Division of Pictorial Publicity, and to three Army
Officers.
The eight men to receive these commissions were:
Ernest Peixotto, Wallace Morgan, W. J. Aylard, Harry Town-
send, Harvey Dunn, Walter Jack Duncan, George Harding and
Andre Smith.
Adeline Adams tells of the work done by these art-
ist-soldiers, on the battlefields of France, in her article
in the Magazine of Art, Vol. 12; Page 191;
"....In a few short years it will be too late
for us to remember our country's part in the
great War, so as to keep forever a definite
record of the battles and personalities in-
volved in that bitter conflict. The first
steps v;ere taken in the spring of 1918, when
the' War Department sent to the American Front
eight -official artists,' to make sketches of
our soldiers at their tasks. The number eight
may seem to match but meagerly with the number
of artists sent by Britain, Canada, and other
countries, but let that pass, for our eight
made good. Their dra'.vings are properly honor- •
ed, by permanent places in our New national
Museum. The historic painting of our eight
artists should be supplemented by paintings
49
suoh as those made by Ernest Pelxotto, one of
the eight, V/ithout such paintings, our war
records are strongly incomplete. With a wide
experience in the triple role of traveler,
writer, and painter, together with a loving
and intimate knowledge of France, her men and
her cities, her land and her language, Captain
Peixotto was ideally fitted for the work
assigned him, and could attack it v/ithout lost
motion. Aware of the inevitable incompleteness
of even the most conscientious drav.'ings in
black and white (at least when considered as
historic records), he constantly made color
notes, and sketches of historic scenes, at
times under fire. Thus his sketches for the
painting of ruined Esnes, lying beneath hill
No. 304 in the faint gold of September 25, 1918,
the blue and rosy purple of coming day, were
made early in the morning, at the beginning of
the Argonne offensive, amidst incessant clam-or
of guns, our artillery being hidden all through
the ruined houses, and tier upon tier on the
hill slopes.
"In the landscapes of nearby Montzeville, we
are again aware of our artillery obliterating
itself among the ruins of the town, at dawn,
while an observation balloon, a huge, busy sky
worm aloft over a greenish horizon, watches
the effect of the fire. These tv/o, Montzeville
and Ssnes, once smiling villages, lie a few
miles south of lofty Ivlontfaucon, that eagle's
nest and panoramic center, from which the
Kaiser viewed Verdun, while north of Montfaucon
is Brieulles, hotly contested for after the
first rush of the offensive we halted. Here
the painter has depicted in broad nervous
strokes the venerable chateau literal3-y cut in
two by an air bomb under an agitated sky that
breathes pity and terror, a handful of our men
climb a foreground of wreckage. Another pic-
ture shows Varennes, taken by our troops on
the second day of that first offensive; Var-
ennes, that old French town we knev/ through our
Dumas, if not through our Michelet, since it
v;as there that Louis the Sixteenth, fleeing
from France, was stopped and turned back to-
ward the guillo'cme.
50
I
"Every artist has a thousand eyes, and here,
as so often at the front, Mr, Peixotto's Span-
ish eye saw in the shattered bulk of that
building, upreared above the troubled emerald
waters of the Aire, and above the quay with
our camions the semblance of a picador's horse
disemboweled, but not yet down. Since Peix-
otto is an artist long trained in seizing the
vital anpects of bewildering, unfamiliar
things, every one of his war landscapes, vivid
records of scenes justly observed in mass and
details, will bring home to our soldiers, the
life they knew on French soil.
"One of the most impressive of these land-
scapes is that of Charteves, near Chateau-Thi-
erry, the shattered church tower at Charteves
still aloft like a na].^.ed poniardo The sketches
made for this picture v/ere made in July ].918,
while the Chateau- Thierry pocket was being
wiped off the mapc
"Who can doubt the value of such pictures in
our National Gallery: No photograph can give
a Just idea of their color, any more than of
the places themselves."
THE POST MAR FINS ART3 ACADEKf:^ NEAR PARIS
Soon after the signing of the Armistice, the War
Department set its approval upon a scheme to establish an
educational system for American soldiers in France. The De-
partment of Fine Arts v/as placed under the special direction
of G-eort,'e S. Hallrnan, xvith Archibald Brown organizing the
Department of Architecture, Leslie Cau.ldwell taking charge
of the Department of Interior Decoration, and Ernest Peix-
otto was asked to organize the Department of Painting. The
idea of an array es"cablishing an art school for troops in
the field v;as novel and unprecedented; yet more than any
51
other class could students, who had been drawn from their
work in American Art Schools to do duty in the Army, profit
by their sojourn in France, The Pavilion de Bellevue, a
hotel-restaurant, situated on a hill above Sirres, wars
selected because of its proximity to Paris, and the opportu-
nity for students to visit famous studios of such painters
as Bonnat, Besnard, Gorraon, and others.
A group of distinguished lecturers were invited to
address the classes, and they were struck by the eagerness
of the men, their quickness to absorb new ideas, and their
untiring capacity for work. One of Peixotto's pupils inform-
ed him, that the students felt that the three months they
had spent at Bellevue had amply compensated them for the two
years they had lost, while serving in the Army, From this
School sprang the idea of having an art center in the Palace
of Fontainebleau, where American students would be allowed to
study, if only for a short period, to refresh their minds
with new ideas, and see for themselves what was going on in
the art world of France.
PEIXOTTO-S FAMOUS MURAL WORK
Since 1924 Peixotto devoted practically all of his
efforts tov/ard mural painting, for which he has an enviable
reputation, the greater part of this work being done in New
York and in California.
52
There is a large mural in the Seaman's Bank of New
York, in Wall Street, another in the Bank of New York, and
one also in the Century Club, and in many other rooms in New
York City. He is also '^ell represented in the Hispanic Muse-
um, New York City, in the National Gallery of New York, and
of Washington, D.C. His war paintings are preserved as his-
toric documents in the Smithsonian Institute.
AN IRISH LAND5CAFE IN A CALIFORNIA ROOM
Mr. William B. Bourn, of San Mateo, California,
called upon Ernest Peixotto in 1925, to paint a series of
mural panels for his Peninsula home. Fro^n the American
Magazine of Art, Vol. 17, page 195, of April 1926, is quoted
the following press notice:
"Ernest Peixotto has recently completed and
put into place, in California, a series of im- .
portant landscape panels for a ballroom in a
great Georgian country house designed by-
Willis Polk, near San Mateo., The spacious
room measures seventy-two feet in length,
thirty-eight feet in width, and twenty-five
feet in height, and the problem of its decora-
tion was no mean one.
"Divided as it is by pilasters and columns in-
to large panels, the two most important of
which measure fourteen by twenty-one feet, it
was first proposed to fill in these panels
with tapestries, but the owner Mr. Bourn, had
a much more personal and original idea. Mr.
and Mrs, Bourn also own the famous estate, call-
ed 'Muckross, • on the Lakes of Killarney, one
of the show places of the Emerald Isle. Muck-
ross Abbey is on the place, and at Muckross
i
53
house Queen Victoria stayed during her sojourn
in Ireland. Mr. Bourn's idea was to have great
formalized panels painted for the California
room which would show the beauty of his Irish
estate. Mr. Peizotto was conmisp.ioned to paint
these panels and went last year to Ireland to
make his studies, then to California to study
the room itself, its lighting, its scale, etc.,
and during the last year has completed the
oanels. While in a sense realistic in design
and sufficiently true to nature, as to he easi-
ly recognizable by anyone who knows Muckross,
the compositions have been strengthened and
formalized by the introduction of carefully
studied tree forms, combined with a treatment
of I'ocks and foregrounds and particularly of
cloud forms in the sky, so as to form a decora-
tive design. The room is toned a water green,
with gold and crystal in the lighting fixtures,
and gold in the furniture and curtains. The
panels have been held down in color to prac-
tically three tones, ivory in the skies, grays
in the distance, and a sort of ruddy purple in
the foreground, thus maintaining the flatness
of the walls, and giving a unity to the v;hole
room, the general effect being one of quiet
distinction. "
A NEW YORK MURAL
In 1929 Peixotto executed a mural for Mr. Farris
Russell of Long Island. The room decorated is an elongated
octagon. To emnhasize the garden Mr. Peixotto utilized clas-
sic garden scenes for the theme of his paintings which cover
the entire wall surface. Soft blues and greens predominate,
but the general tone is gay and colorful. The feeling of
atmosphere, so characteristic of this artist's work, lends
pleasing softness and beauty.
54
ANOTHER CALIF0FJ\TIA HURAL
A year later Peixotto was commissioned to paint a
series of murals for Mr, and Mrs. John C. Cravens, of Pasa-
dena, California. Regarding this work the American Magazine
of Art, Vol. 21, page 237, had the following to say:
"Ernest Peixotto has lately corarDleted a series
of mural paintings for the residence of Mr. and
Mrs. John C. Cravens in Pasadena, California,
which were exhibited this season at the Grand
Central Galleries, New Yorx. The house in
which these painting:s are to be placed, was de-
signed by Louis Hobart, in the style of the
French Chateau of the seventeenth century, with
high peaked roof, and brick walls trimmed with
stone. The clever panels which Mr. Peixotto
has executed are intended to act as a tie be-
tween the formal gardens, which overlook the
Arroyo, and the interior of the house. They
occupy all of the wall space of the gallery, a
long room which serves as entrance to all the
large rooms of the main floor. The visitor
enters this gallery in the center of one of
the long halls, vjith Immediately opposite him,
the large central panel, twenty-one feet long
and ten feet high. This has been designed so
as to give as much added width to the room as
possible, a wide garden nerspective laid out
in the manner of Lenotre, with broad parterres,
fountains, grottos, and pools, v;alled in by
avenues of trees, and leading to the chateau
seen in the distance. The color scheme is held
down to a series of quiet tones, murals in
quality which v/ill lend dignity to the gallery,
and be in accord v,'ith the warm Trianon gray of
the woodwork. Mr. Peixotto is President of
the Mural Painters Society, the First Vice-
President of the Architectural League of New
York City. "
55
A MURAL OF GREAT BEAUTY NEAR FLORENCE. ITALY
One of Ernest Peixotto's most ornate mural decora-
tions was executed in a splendid, old Villa near Florence,
Italy. The reception room walls of the quattrocento villa
had previously been done in fresco by G-ardner Hale, and when
Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Spelman of New York City bought the
house, they decided to have the walls of the music room
painted as v;ell. Peixotto was comirissionod to do this work,
and, accompanied by his vdfe, moved into a little villano a-
cross the road from the building. Here he established his
living quarters, and a work-shop, in which the cartoons and
sketches v;ere made. This work was based on sketches and
memories of Venice and of the Italian Riviera, painted free-
ly on canvas, which was later maroufled to the wall. When
the paneling was completed, the walls were ^oainted a deep
cream color, with the mouldings of a lighter tone, and be-
tween the double mould of each r)anel, a field of turquoise
green. This color was repeated and intensified in the water
that appears in the foreground of each panel, and the fore-
grounds themselves were all held together with a ruddy pur-
plish tone.
In the fall of the same year, 1931, Peixotto was
called back to Nev? York once again, to naint a mural for the
foyer of a Fifth Avenue apartment house. The theme used by
him for this work was that of a panoramic view of New York's
skyline, as seen from a downtown roof-garden.
56
MURAL FOR THE SEORaS WA5HIN5T0H BIC3NTSNARY
In 1932, under the ruspices of the il'.ural Painters
Society of Nev: York City, fourteen murals, done oy thirteen
American Artists were installed in the National Gallery in
Washington, D. C, in conmemoratlon of the George Washington
Bicentenary. Ernest Paixotto, a.nd Arthur Co^'ey, considered
represeritative of the best in traditional mural painting in
America, were selected in the group of thirteen to head the
roster of artists contributing to this work. Peixotto, who
was the President of the Society, displayed two works "La.fay-
ette with French Allies," and ''V/ashington with Generals Knox
and Lincoln." The paintings were planned as a unit, despite
the differing technique of the artists, and the murals v/hen
installed represented an inspiring review of American His-
tory through the Revolutionary Period.
CONCLUSION
At this writing, Mr. Pelx.otto is continuing his
colorful career in Nev; York City, v;here he is active in art
ivork. His present address is 137 East 66th Street, New York
City, N. Y. , and the Credit Lyonnalse in Paris, France,
Peter Robertson has given us, in his highly ex-
pressive manner of writing, a fascinating description of
Ernest Peixotto, the man, and his work; in the Out-'Vest Mag-
azine, of 1903, Vol. 19, page 133:
57
"If you met Ernest Pelxotto on the street, as
you looked at his spare, short figure, his
gentle, magnetic and sympathetic eyes, you
would turn and look again and say; 'Surely an
artist of some kind,' not the wild, hair-brain-
ed order of Bohemians; not of the far of f, gaz-
ing into the infinite kind, not the unkempt,
long-haired fellon, not the bitter poverty-
stricken, hate-everybody sort of a chap. A
face wonderfully expressive, thoughtful far
more than intelligent — a luminant, artistic
face in fact,
"Eyes that are not dreaming, yet have the soft
absorptive ouality which light and become pen-
etrating, quizzical, but altogether kindly,
when he begins to speak:. He is not a loud em-
phatic argucr on art. he is not a disputatious
excltnble enthusiast, yet an enthusiast he is,
only his enthusiasm glows and burns, and seems
always to cone from the very inner
ays "^^ nnj-^R 7 Tum Lilt; vuiv" xjui'.-j. COnSClOUS—
ness.
"His censure of other artistic work is always
gentle, his belief in himself in more a hope
of talent, than a self- sat l-sf led assurance of
genius. He is an artist, indeed so singularly
kindly, so quiet, so unusually sane that his
personal qualities might well cast a doubt up-
on his genius, if his ^7ork were not there to
prove its value.
"In his Venetian pictures one feels Italy, the
b^ue sky of Italy is there, the architecture
is almost in absolute detail yet the warm sun
illurain.^tes it, and Peixotto puts poetry into
the whole scene. There is even the laziness
of the land, and one can hear the splash of
the gondola and fancy he listens to the Ital-
ian melody.
"Not only in Venice, not only in the French
Villa°-es. in every subject there is a familiar-
ity with places, people, and scenery. There
is a feeling as one stands and looks at the
canvas that there is no guess work. That rar-
est of all efforts, atmosphere, that carries
one, he does not know how, to the spot of the
picture, is everywhere. There is something
I
58
intangible, but absolutely felt in these can-
vases, something subtle, the ideal that lies
behind and saturates all scenes. The very
hardness of some of the buildings strikes one
as unmistakably true. One does not have to be
told that Peixotto has traveled where he has
painted, it is in evidence ^ People v/ho have
been where he has worked hardly nead a plate
on the picture, so faithfully does he seem to
'catch the atmosphere, the characteristics, the
peculiarities, tlie color of his subjects.
"His conscientiousness, his skill, and his hard
work, have taught him the solid foundation of
things, and his temperament has found the ide-
al, the beautiful, the psychological, in the
real of everyday life., and in the different
phases of material naturCc''
i
59
ERIJEST CLIFFOIID PSIXOTTO
REPRESENTATIVE
WORKS
Le Vieux Garde de Chasse (1890)
Dans L Egllse (18' a)
Woman of Rijsoord (1805)
Lady in Yellov: (1900) Paris, Fra'ice
Dutch Bird Cage (1907) Paris, France
The Pool, La Gran j a (1915)
Mural for home of Mr. Henry A. Everett (1911)
Cleveland, Ohio, entitled '"Llorte d' Arthur"
Mural in Seaiaan's Ban'.c (1924) Nev York City
Mural in Bs,n"K of New York (1924) Ilev York City
Mural in Century Club (1924) New York City
Mural for hone of 1/Villian; B. Bourn (1925)
San Mateo, California
Mural for hone of Mr. Fai'ris Russell (1929)
Long Island, New York
Mural for home of Mr. John C. Cravens (1930)
Pasadena, California
Mural for home of Mr. Timothy Spelman (1931)
Florence, Italy
Mural for George Washington Bicentenary (1932)
Washinji'ton, D. C.
Mural for hone ofl'b* Kenry A.Everett, (1911 )
Cleveland, Ohio, entitled "Morte d'Arthur. "
EXHIBITIONS:
Paris, France:
Paris Salon, 1890-91-95
Nev,' York City:
National Academy of Design, 1908
Chicago, Illinois:
Chicago World's Fair, 1895
Special Request Exhibition, 1903, 1907
Philadelr>hia, Pennsylvania:
Special Request Exhibition, 1903
Toledo, Ohio:
Special Request Exhibition, 1907
I
60
AWARDS:
Detroit, Michlrian:
Special Request Exhibitlor, 1907
San Francisco, California:
Vlckery's Gallery, 1892
Hark Hopkins Institute, 1895
San Francisco Art Association, 1900, 1903
Panama-p.-^.cific International Exposition, 1915
Konoral^le Lfention, Paris Salon, 1895
Painting, '"Aonan of R-ijsoord"
Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, 1921
Paris, France
Officer of the Lesion of Honor, 1925
Paris, France
ILLUSTRATIONS:
CLUBS:
Professor Sanuel Brun's, "Tales of Languedoc, " 1896
Henry Cabot Lodge's, "Story of the Revolution, " 1897
Robert Louis Stevenson' ^^ , ''Letters," 1897
Roosevelt's, "Life of Groffi"fell," 1899
Member:
Boheralan Club, San Francisco, California
Century Club, (vice-president) New York City
McDowell Club, (ex. President) Nev York City
Coffee House, Ne^" York City
The Players Club, New York City
The Salmagundi Club, Ilei-v York City
National Society of Mural Painters, New York City
S'^clety o:' Illustrators, Nev/ Yor'": City
Allied Artlpts of America, New York City
Architectural League (President) New York City
Interallied American Club, Paris, France
The Am.crican Club, Paris, France
Societe des Artistes FrancaJ.s, Paris, France
61
OFFICIAL POSITIONS HELD:
Director De-nartraent of I^Tural Painting
Beaux Arts Institute, Nev York City
Director Atelier of Painting, A.E.F. , France
Director Department oi" L'lural Painting,
Bellevue, France
Instructor of Paintinf^, Chicago School of
Fine Arts, Chicago, Illinois
LITERARY WORKS:
3y Italian Soas, 1905
Through the French Provinces, 1910
Romantic California, 1911
Pacific Shores fron Pa.naraa, 1913
Our Hispanic Southwest, 1915
The American Front, 1919
The Flr.p-.onr.rd. mastf-rpieces in the Mor?ran
collection — an artistic criticism.
I
62
ERNEST CLIFFORD PEIXOTTO
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Argonaut Magazine, September 18, 1893
The Out West Magazine, Vol. 19, Page 133; 1903
The San Francisco Call
June 24, 1907
September 22, 1912
Scrlbner's Magazine
Vol. 42, Page 362; 1910
Vol. 62, Page 1; 1917
Vol. 57, Page 125; 1925
American Magazine of Art
Vol. 12, Page 191
Vol. 17, Page 195
Vol. 21, Page 237
1920
1926
1930
FRANCIS JOHN MC C 0 M A S
_L o ( ^» • • • • • • •
Biography and Works
"NAVAJO GATEWAY"— ARIZONA 1914.
-\
ALAGE O'F THE LE;1I0N OF HONOR
54
FRANCIS JOHN McCOJilAS
One of the West's greatest painters, Francis J.
McComas, seems to have been the excer)tion to the rule that
artists must struggle through poverty and discouraging peri-
ods to attain their rev/s.rds. Mr. McCoraas appears to have
been one of the favored few who 'cncw what they want, go after
it, and succeed from the start. His life as a painter has
been a constant rise toward fame.
It was the appreciation and encouragement he re-
ceived after coming to the United States which led him to
throw himself more seriously into his work; and that success
has rewarded his devotion to art is shown by the fact that
his works are to be found in nearly every gallery of Impor-
tance in America.
YOUTH MW EAPLY TPAININQ-
From the South Seas to California — from the small
Island of Tasmania, south of the southern tiiD of Australia,
to our lovely land of color and romance came Francis J.
McCoraas.
Born in the village of Fingal, Tasmania, on Octo-
ber 1, 1874, the son of Richard Nev>rton and Julia (Davies)
McComas this Briton was sent to Australia for his education.
At that time Tasmania was a sparsely settled, Isolated land.
Sheep raising, coal and gold mining were its principal
65
resources. The island had not yet become a part of the Cora-
monwealth of Australia. The facilities for higher education
or for artistic training v/ere so li-Tiiteci as to be almost nil.
So the youth went to Australia where he enrolled
at the Sydney Technical Colle,-:,e. Becinning his art career
as an illuminator iwith the firm of John Sands, of Sydney, but
becoming dissatisfied vith this somewhat restricted field, he
took to sketching from nature, his "favorite sketching ground
being Double Bay G-ully and the now vanished Bondi Lagoons. "
In his first attempts, his drawing was a somewhat
neglected f eature, but by degrees his art began to mature and
his method ceased to have tlie sketchiness which m.arked his
earlier work.
Tales of the opportunities in Am.erica reached his
ears. Calif ronia was enjoying prosperity and San Francisco
was in the midst of the lavish era of the "gay nineties. "
Newly rich Americans were out-buying each other — even In mat-
ters of a'rt! So this young man, now twenty-four years old,
set sail for a great adventure. He sailed the South Seas and
came North, arriving; in the United States in 1893.
EARLY H2CC0GNITI0N
Although largely self-taught he studied for some
years with Arthur Mathews, famous artist and teacher in San
Francisco. The first mention of his work, in a leading San
Francisco weekly, comes from the Argonaut of March 20, 1899
which says:
66
"Frank HcComas, the young Australian water-col-
orist, will soon go to Chicago to exhibit his
work, and then will try a nev/ field in Kexico.
After that London will be his home and place
of study. "
From London to Paris is a short distance and so we
read, in the autumn of the following year, that he had re-
turned from France. 7/hile in Paris he studied at the Julian
Academy.
A VISIT TO HIS OLD HOME
Quoting again fron the Argonaut of October 15,1900:
"Frank J'o Comas, but recently returned to San
Francisco from Paris has gone for a short sea-
son to his Australian hone. It is understood
that he will return to California in the early
sprint'. Ke takes with him many California
sketches, and among them a very original Leona
Heights landscape. "
ONE MAM SHOW WINS GLOWINa PRAISE
Returning from his visit, we hear nothing of his
work until in 1902 when he held a show at Vickery's, in Post
Street. Here he exhibited t-'.'onty-four -nictures and received
glowing praises from the critics. One expresses it in this
manner;
"They are Ju.st so many little poems, quatrains
and lyrics that will linger forever in the mem-
ory, with here and there, among them, one that
rises to the dignity of a x'ull fledged sonnet,
and has majesty and synr)honic breadth of form
and subject that reminds one of the best works
of Keats. One would not willingly miss having
seen and studied this little volume of poems;
they are in themselves an education in adirec-
67
tlon in vvhlch we all — for we are all Philis-
tines in the main — have everything to learn,
from men like Mr. McCoraas."
GOOD FORTUNE AND A TRIP TO NEW PLACES
During the late summer of 1904 Mr, McComas decided
to go to London. He had many fine paintings and wished to
exhibit them abroad. But on his v;ay he stopped in Chicago
and Nev/ York and disposed of all of his work In the United
States. The next we hear of him he is painting in Tangier.
While abroad he visited London, Paris, and several cities in
Spain which occupied his time until his return to California
in October. As a companion on this trip he had with him Dr.
Arnold Genthe, who also was intent upon his art. Mr. McComas
brought back some twenty-five scenes done in Spain, In com-
menting upon these pictures a writer on the San Francisco
Call, October 25, 1904 reminds us that;
"....his landscapes do not differ essentially
from his famous California studies, because, as
a matter of fact. Old Spain is wonderfully akin
to New Spain. .. .when it comes to color."
After a stay of only a few weeks the artist depart-
ed for Santa Barbara to continue his work.
GPEAT IMPROVEMENT OF STYLE NOTED
It was only a few months until he returned to San
Francisco and again exhibited at Vickery's. There were twen-
ty pictures in this showing. The critics of several newspa-
pers and magazines published in San Francisco were warm in
68
their praise of this group, which were all Impressionistic
and ivhich showed a great improvement of style. His glaring
colors, weird shapes and flatness noted in previous work had
been subdued, but enough of the fantastic quality so notice-
able in his early work, had been retained to give his pic-
tures distinction. Spanish and Californian landscapes com-
prised the lot and in all of them there glov-'ed a mellovmess
of tone, a v/armth of color and technical excellence that made
them outstanding and desirable. His Callfo2:'^ia- scenes were
noted for their great, green oaks which he loved to paint.
In his pictures he was able to portray their grandeur and
their immense size. Among his Spanish pictures outstanding
numbers were his "G-ibraltar, " "The Bridge of Ronda, " and
"Spanish Afternoon," three distinct tyoes. The splendid suc-
cess these pictures met vith in New York and Chicago was re-
peated in San Francisco, v.'hich had become the McComas home
by adoption, the finest compliment a man may pay to a city
he prefers to live in.
A SOCIETx WEDDING
The San Francisco papers gave detailed accounts of
the marriage on June £8, 1&05 of the daughter of Mrs. Louis
Baldwin Parrott, the beautiful Harie Louise Parrott and Fran-
cis McComas. The wedding, which took place in Trinity Church,
was one of the most interesting events of the month, coming
as the culmination of the romance of the society belle and
69
the talented young artist. It is interesting to note that
among the ushers was another artist well-known in the Bay
region, Mr. Charles Rollo Peters, and the best man was Willis
Polk, famous San Francisco architect.
PAINTINGS OOIIPARED TO I.IUSIC
The folio "Intj Fehraury 1906, Mr. McGomas (^ave an-
other exhibition at Vickery's. 3y this time the critics vt?ere
at a loss to fiucT enough adjectives to describe his work.
One review from the Argonaut, February 10, 1906 stres^-^es:
"....a restful atn'osphere of refiier.ent which
produces an essential sort oi: pleas. ire, vhile
the pictures themselves Toroduce spiritual stim-
ulation and wonder. IlcComas' manner, always
distinguished, becomes more so with every ne?'
expression. His present exhibition is an amaz-
ing advance over the last. Soiie of his older
pictures are ab'-olutely complete, even mature,
but his vjnrh today shcv/s that that of yester-
day was only exocrimontal. In the delicate and
difficult art of watur-color r^ainting, an art-
ist can loam something from every picture he
paints. This is what lie Comas seems to have
done. Ke has advanced the technique of his
chosen mediiw; v;onderfully, maintaining always
a marked individu.ality that enters one's con-
sciousness and becomes a nev/ form of Beauty.
"■^s Mc Comas has created a new phase of picto-
rial art, so has he created a new form of beau-
ty, v-/hich one recognizes by the spell compar-
able only to tiiat of beautiful music and not
wholly interpretable in words.
"I'IcComas has advanced in every department of
his art, in composition, in color, in drawing,
in modeling, and in appreciation of values.
With his surer knov'ledge of drawing he has a-
chieved the softness of edge that seemed once
to baffle him. In certain pictures however,
which he has carried rather far, there is care-
ful and successful modeling in certain planus.
70
while others exhibit a flatness indicative of
tii.'.idity and reminiscent of his earlier oeri-
ods. "
"No such fault can "be found in his pictures,
'The Oak Woods,' 'Las Casltas,' 'The River,'
' Casitas Road,' ^ The Farm 7/ell,' and many oth-
ers in this truly notable collection.
"The spiritual qualities of the artist's ear-
lier endeavors are intensified and strengthened
in his latest work. There is still in his
paintings the looetry of all things wistful in
Nature, blue sKies tender with light^ clouds of
the hue of old ivory, the silver atmosphere
enveloping golden, sunlit trees; shadows un-
searchable, and now and then, a glimpse of a
chryso^jrase sea; but there is more of strength
and less of dre.am.
"He has lost nothing of ooetry; he has only al-
tered its quality. There is poetry and mystery
in such a picture as 'Las Casitas,' but there Is
also bigness and nobility, almost grandeur; it
is sensational in its sheer lovliness, dramatic
but not theatrical.
"But it becomes more and more ir^pertinent and
futile to attempt to describe or analyze McComas'
pictures; each In its beauty, seems like a sin-
gle phase in a sym.phony.
"They a.re a g:re'it art ex-oression that has grown
here in the West, virtually untouched by exteri-
or influence, and which bids fair to be acclaim-
ed some day in tlie woi'^ld.
"They are the expression of a sensitive and
strong artistic personality, which sees Mature
with the eyes of genius and interprets it with
the brain of a poet and the hand of a master. "
A LOUrOIJ EXHIBITION
Later in the year, Aufc,ust, his v/ork was being shown
before enthusiastic art patrons of London. The leading ar-
tistic magazine of the world, "Studio, " was giving him exten-
sive notices and I'eproducing some of liis pictures in its
71
pages. One of those shown v.;as entitled "The Pines, Monterey"
and owned by Dr. Harry Tevis, of San Francisco.
SOUTH TO SANTA BARBARA
Many of the artists departed to spend the winter
in Santa Bai-bara. By September of 1*^05, McComas, Breuer,
Wores, and Vk'elch were settled in that delightful city and
doing some of their best work.
PRESENTED AT COURT
The early months csf 1907 found Mr. and Mrs, HcComas
in Athens, vhere they had the honor of being presented at
Court. V/hile enjoying their stay in that city they had rooms
overlooking the Parthenon, and Mr. McComas found the condi-
tions and atmosphere ideal for his painting.
THE ADOBE OF THE ROSEBUSH
While in California Mr. McComas had an equally de-
lightful, although very different, studio. Here he painted
in a picturesque adobe over which a rosebush of enormous size
reached, and '7?iich was called "The Adobe of tbe Rosebush, "
made historic by a romance of the long ago. From this studio
came the pictures which gave him a vjorld-wide reputation as
a water-colorlst.
ANOTHER LONDON TRIUtJiPH
By April of 1908, he had gone to London where an
exhibition of his work was to be seen at the Carfax Gallery.
72
This attracted large attendance and won for bin high praise
from the London Times. The critics there likened him to
Cotman, and Cotman at his best. One remarks tV:.at "llcComas
siTiplifies everything, but he never simrjllfies to evade dif-
ficulties. "
One of his paintings from Greece v;as esDecially
liked. It was the "Athenio.n Temples," with the Parthenon
standing strong, yet delicate, against the sky, and a grove
of giant olives in the foreground. A London critic says that:
"McComas paints trees as other artists naint
the ni;de. 'The New Forest,' is really o. group
of tree portraits. In another work, 'L'isle
d'Ulysse' at Corfu one ferls the need of some
distraction fron the order and severity of the
forms. 'The Bridge of Ronda , ' is a finely com-
posed picture. Among the smaller works, 'The
Island, Corfu' is simple and delicate, and
'Ronda Farns' is simple and severe."
THE ARTIST PETUmTS HOI-IE
July of the same year saw McComas again in Cali-
fornia and his friends at the Bohemian Club were welcoming
him back to San Francisco. By the middle of November he was
holding a "one-man" show at Vickery ' s, with tv;enty-tv/o v/ater-
colors, an oil, and eight charcoal studies. The papers re-
marked upon the fact that on the third day of the show seven
water-colors and four cha.rcoal sketches had been sold. Mc-
Comas received large prices for his work, and by the end of
the exhibition had sold every picture, which would have been
dui'pi-lalng in view of the times but for t'-'e fact that there
73
was rarely a finished picture In his studio, each being con-
tracted for in advance or sold almost at the instant of its
completion.
A studio, on Post Street, v;as opened in Ar.ril of
1909 and he was furnishing it and preparing to have "open
house" for the artists and their friends of the city. It
must have been a haraonious setting for his pictures, with
its tapestries of low toned yellow and the ceiling of French
gray. Restfulness and quiet beauty with a minimum of fur-
nishings made it a charming and wholly satisfying apartment,
but even v/hile furnishing this delightful place to work, he
was planning on a trip to the Arizona desert. He wished to
develop along a now line and felt that he "'ould like to live
in the desert at least until the first of the year. !Irg. Mc-
Comas did not feel equal to the task of "roughing it" among
the canyons of the South and so remained at San Francisco,
making her home at a hotel. Turing his absence he rented his
studio to Mary Herrick Ross.
SEVERAL MONTHS TA FEW MEXICO
Returning fron Arizona and New Mexico in the spring
of 1910, his vrcrk was again displayed at Vickery's. This
time there v;ere thirty-eight pictui'es on view, nearly all of
them desert pictures. Sunsh.ine and shadow, the desert in
mid-day sun or softened with the deeper blues and purples of
on-coming night. Also he shovred two scenes from near Mon-
terey, one especially fine called "The Road. " It was a sunny
I
74
stretch of road, with deen shade where the live-oaks met above
it. Of the desert pictures the most striking was "The Zum
Pass," a large painting of the New Mexican desert at sunset.
A pale and delicate study was "The Wide Open" and a contrast-
ing dark one the "Mariaso." "Sunshine" in tones of yellow-
brown was of a valley flooded with sunshine. "The Mesas of
Mew Mexico" ran the whole gamut of colors from pale cream, to
red to somber shadows in the foreground. "A Navajo Village"
on the side of a brown, red hill beneath a sky of pale yel-
low showed three huts of the Indians with several figures,
the shadows making a bold contrast. This was one of the most
popular of the pictures.
Again in December 1910, he had five oaintings on
view at Vickery's. One which attracted much attention was a
group Oi" three pictures in one frame, each a scene from near
Carmel.
NEW YOFJC EXHIBITION
The Macbeth G-alleries in New York vrere holding a
show at the same time, with eighteen of his pictu.res, most
of them liis desert studies. These v^fere for the most part of
Indians and the bad lands of the desert. "Ruin Rock" and
"Walpi" were two v/hich received much cora.nent. From New York
he returned to Monterey and Gar. Francisco to participate in
the Artists' Show at the Bohemian Club, San Francisco, which
was held scon after Easter. The Bohemian Club includes in
75
its roster some of the greatest nen of the West and their ex-
hibitions are always red letter days in the Art World.
A MSI'IBER OF MONTEREY SOCIETY
By 1912 the personality of the sumner colony of
Montei'ey had changed considerably. Instead of Bohemia it had
become a real society center. Mr. and Mrs. McComas had moved
into their beautiful nev; r^lace which they had built near the
Presidio and Mrs. McConps' sister, Mrs. Parker Whitney, had
ta'Ken a house in to'«.'n. Mrs. John D. Sprec'cels anc"' her family
had taken tl- e Charles Rollo Peters' home on the Carmel Hill.
There was much entertaining and activity in the quaint old
town during the summer months. In December G-ump's in San
Francisco had secured some excellent examples of his v;ork,
which they exhibited in their gallery on Post Street. It
was rather difficult to get pictures from Mr. McComas, as
his work found a ready ma.rket without the aid of art dealers.
The Wasp of May 31, 1913 remarks that Mrs. John Spreckels had
decided to take up art seriously. In commenting upon this
it says:
"Social distinction is unquestionably an asset
to a painter. An example of that fact was fur-
nished by Francis Mc Comas when he married Miss
Parrott, of San Francisco. There was a rush of
the nouveau riche to the clever water-color
painter's studio to gnve him commissions, and
his bank account increased accordingly. "
THE PAI'^AIilA-PACIFIC INn^ERNATIONAI. EXPOSITION
The great Exposition in San Francisco in 1915 gave
McComas an excellent opportunity to display his work befoi'e
76
the eyes of hundreds of thousands of visitors. He also was
one of t'].-?. Jury, which planned the art exhibit and which de-
cided upon the prizes a.nd awards to be given. His own work
was displayed in several galleries along with other famous
California naintcrs. He and his forracr teacher, Arthur Math-
ews, shared honoi's in Gallery No. 75, and it was said of him
at the tine that next to Mathevjs, he is the most original,
powerful and prominent of the Western artists. To quote from
"The Inscription from the Panama-Pacific International Ex-
position, 1915":
"A certain sense of quality, thr\t subtle, inner
attribute which is so hard to isolate and pre-
cisely define, but which is invariably present
in all authentic Art, no matter what ''cind it
may be, distinguishes this painter's very re-
m^arr.able work. Christian Brinton termed him
'the Whistler of the V/cst,' and the impression
of giving only the quintessence of his subject,
which l:cComa.s' pictures produce is, indeed, a-
kin to the selective genius of the great mas-
ter, although the spiritual atmosr)here which
is the lovely envelope of Whistler's work is
not present in that of McComas, which on the
contrary is definite and firm,\ at times even
to hardness. His plpce among the most orig-
inal younger men in America is unquestioned.
Few painters in oil can use their pigments with
more strength than McComas exerts in his water
color medium. "
The paintings which he displayed in this room were
his Arizona desert scenes and studies of Monterey where he
had his studio at this time. It was remarked at the time
that he had, in a word, successfully expressed the diversity
of Nature as it exists in different countries and climates.
77
"....cherry blossoms do not express Japan, gon-
dolas do not express Venice, mantillas Spain,
nor snow Switzerland. If California had more
painters li'ce ricComas, we would not only have
Art, but, we v;ould also have an art at once
Californian and Universal." (From "Art in Cali-
fornia. ")
Kis most important picture of this exhibit was his
"City of the Desert. "
Gallery No. 90 divided honors among Keith, Mathews,
and McComas. While all of these men are of different cali-
ber, tiiey have something in common which binds them closely
together. It seems peculiar that a country famous for itg
sunshine should produce men as Keith, McCoraas, and I'lathews,
for these men reflect a somber atmosDhere in a type of work
which must be called tonal and arbitrary rather than natu-
ralistic.
According to an excerpt from "Galleries at the 1915
Panama-Pacific International Exposition" by Neuhaus, Mathews
and Kg Comas are;
"..i. closely related in the decorative quality
of their work but they are not alike in any
other way. Mathews' art is emotional; it tells
something beyond mere color, form or composi-
tion, vrhile McComas' art is mostly technical,
in the clever manipulation of a difficult me-
dium. Hi? sense of construction and feeling
for effect is very acute. "
Mr. Eugene Neuhaus and P.r. McComas were criticized
by the Overland Magazine of December 1915, because they ar-
ranged for the Exposition Galleries nothing but the low
tones — oaintings in " gray-browns , dull gold and clay white.
Il
I
78
Californlans seemed to resent this, since it '"as an exhibit
of California scenes and California is noted for its vivid
coloring. Among Mr. McComas' own work were "Oaks of the
Monte," "Pines at Monterey" and "A Los Olivos Oak Tree" — all
dene in these dull tints. This same critic objects to Mr.
McComas' shadows because they are done in a "peculiar, vivid
dull blue. " But he (^oes on to state that he must confess
that McComas "uses this color in a most effective, not to
say startling way. " The "Broken Oak" is a more "ordinary
color vision, " portraying magnificent old tree the "trag-
edy of its ruin. "
mgCoIvIAS g-oes east
At the close of the Exoosition the Directors wished
to keep the palace of Fine Arts ooen and Mr. Trask undertook
to hold what paintings he could. The management sent him and
Mr. McComas eost to reolace those that would have to be re-
turned to owners or delivered to purchasers, and they were
successful "in obtaining a most creditable collection, mainly
from artists. So the Palace was retained, and placed under
the control of the San Francisco Art Association.
consglipatiom of two art societies
After the Panama-Pacific International Exposition,
the San Francisco Art Association felt it advisable to
strengthen the merabei'ship and financial resources of that
institution. In this way a permanent museum and a school of
I
79
art could be established. And so they Inv^.ted the San Fran-
cisco Society of Artists, an o.;;ar.ization new in years, but
strong in membership, to affiliate. This youn^; Society of
Artists' success had been lai'gely due to the guiding genius
of Arthur Mathews and I'icGomas, considerably encouraged by
the S-cetch Club, which was an organization of women artists.
I.'cCOI'AS CHAIKV[A.N OF GOmiT'-^EE TO AID
wah stricken artists
A national movement for the aid of artists was
formed du.rinr^: the period of the World War. It was called the
"American Artists' War Emerp;ency Fund Committee" and the
plan originated in New York, with branches throughout the
country. The idea was to assist American Ai't Workers, or
their fainilies who, because of enti-y into t>ie war might need
help. It was not a public appeal to charity. The funds were
raised by the sale of very attractive seal-stamps devised by
the committee in IJew York. Tr. LIcComas was requested to
serve as chairm.an of the Connittee for California, with five
other artists.
I I^TERIST I NS COMMI 5 51 0\tS
A delightful order came to Mr. McComas in the au-
tumn of 1917. He was commissioned to paint a large picture,
to be used as a mantel-piece for one of the fine homes in
Burlingame, California. The subject was to be of oak trees.
The Waso, dated September 8, 1917, says:
\
80
"The best known painter in Monterey for years
has been Francis J. McComas, a talented artist,
ranked by many as one ox" the five best water-
color men in the Uni.ted States today — the oth-
ers being John S. Sarp;ent, John Marin, Chas.
Woodbury, and Dodge McKnight. . . . This oainter
believes that the work snonld tell of the place,
and that a picture of the oak should convey
something of the message of the oak. This he
does in the hi>"hest degree successfully. .. .His
oaks are great, beautifully grov/n trees with
character, stainina and r^ride expressed in their
stately bearin;''j while all the secrets of their
past seen revealed. .. .The place this nan fills
is one California is proud of, and it is a
pleasure to note that the next commission is a
large one for the TIoti'OTDolitan Museum in Nev;
York. McConias would have' been one of the big
medal men of 191E, if he had not been called
tro serve on the jury. '■
RETURN TO THE DESERT
Mr. McConas had been living in San Francisco for
the past year, but in Set)te:nber of 1917 he loft for Arizona
to execute a commission for some desert scen.-s. During the
fall, Mr. and Hrs. McComas became divorced, and on October
fifth, Mrs. Marie Louise McCorias became the wife of B. 0.
Simpson, the author, who writes unier the oen-name of Putnajn
Neil.
MoCOT'IAS' SECOND MA:RRIAGE
From the Society columns nf the San Francisco Chron-
icle of October 31, 1917 in an article signed "Lady Teazle"
is the reoort of Mr. McConas' second iiarriage:
"A quiet wedding yesterday (October 50th) took
olace at the Palace Hotel, San Francisco, when
Gene Frances Baker became the bride of the dis-
tinguished artist Francis J. McComas. The cere-
mony was held at the bride's apartment and only
(I
81
a fe-M close friends attended. The bride is the
dauf'hterof the late Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Ba'cer,
of Oa'^land. And the brlcie has made her home in
Oakland for many years.
"Mr. I!cCoffias has ju?t returned from the Arizona
desert v/here he has been making sketches for
panels to adoiui the nev; home 'Of George Moore in
New York, Mr. Mocre and the artist are close
friends and Mi'. Mcore nade a trip West during
the surnner to discuss the new homo and to de-
cide on the panels which are to be the impor-
tant feature of the hall.
"Mr. and Mrs. McConas will make t};eir home in
Monterey, v/hei-e ho ov.'ns one of the most artis-
tic i)laces of that locality, 'ffliile in CRlifor-
nia during the last few years, the artist has
passed the greater part of his tine in tSiat
picturesque place and many of his best known
painting's depict scenes about Monterey."
A N( }TKER NEW YOro^ S^^OW
During November of 1920, Mr. McComa.s held another
New York Exhibition, this time at Gimoel and Wildenstein' s.
"Arts and Decorations" dated November 2nth, an excellent mag-
azine of that city sDea""".s of the exhibit, as follows:
"His first exhibition consisted of a number of
watex"-colors of live-oaks and made a sensation.
His last, eight years aiio, depicted the Arizona
desei't, not literally, but with a great effort
to attain a fundamental fidelity — to do justice
to the theme. His exhibition should prove in-
teresting. "
A MONTERg^ EXHIBITION
One of the greatest exhibitions rrf loaintings in the
history of California was given in 1922, at the Monterey In-
dustrial Exhibition. G-ouvernei'r Morris, short-story writer,
acted as chairman of arrangements ana the chairman of the
82
Art Jury was Francis McConas, assisted by Arr.ii.n Hansen and
Fred G-ray. Only the highest type of work was accented and
the hanging was beautifully done. One of the interesting
features of the shov; was the work done by the wives of many
of the artists. Not v/ishing to trade upon the reputation of
their husoands, most of then Daint under their own names, a-
mong these being Mrs. Armin Hansen who uses her maiden nane,
and Mrs. McComas, vmo had several pictures listed as Gene
Francis .
r:p.S. I.IcCOT;IAS HOLDS FIRST EXHIBITION
Ada Hanifin, Critic of the Wa.sp, seemed impressed
with the work of Mrs. Francis McCo!:;ys, when she gave her first
"one-nrm show" at Gump's in October 1924. She says:
"A veritable garden, the radiant kind that
.blooms in the spring — such is the glowing and
provocative atraosphoro the colorful canvases
evoXo that are hanging on the walls of the
Print Rooms this week.
"Her still life and portraits reflect a feeling
for the relation of color values — but the land-
scapes suggest inriaturity ra.thor than growth.
A portrait 'Angels' shoivs her at her best.
'Yellov>? Tulips' is tiie finest expression in the
cxhioit. "
M UIJIJSUAL ASSIGin'^'ENT
Beatrice Judd R,yan, in writing for the Women's City
Club Magazine, September 1927 issue, tells of a most unusual
assignment given to Mr. McComas. It socmg that Mrs. James
Murray, of Monterey, desired a decorative panel for the living
83
room of her home. She wished sonethlng besides a landscape,
seascape or figures. So Mr. i'lcComas painted a "Symphony of
Historic Monterey. " This is a:
". . . . comriosition of old landnar'irs woven togeth-
er in intriguing color and pattern, done in the
best McConas manner, which is alv;ays a knowledge
of craftsranship, plus a genuine feeling for
beauty. "
The subject comorised the old firehouse, the court-
house, and the Robert Louis Stevenson home. At this time
Mrs. Hyan pays tribute to Mrs. McComas, the artist. She men-
tions one particular painting of the '^South Sea Woman" and
also a mammoth screen done for a Spanish type dining room.
In January 1932, Mr. McGomas received a commission
for a great decorative nap fresco for the Hotel Del Monte.
SOI"iE. CRITICISMS
Although this review of Mr. McComas' work has given
extensive criticisns it inay be well, in closing, to quote
from "An Artist in America" by Maxwell Armfield, in the Chap-
ter entitled, "Hints of Spain and Italy," Mr. Armfield says
In part:
"This fine quality of landscape no doubt ac-
counts to a large extent for the invariable
color-sense of Calif ornian painters. McComas,
Piazzoni, any of them taken at random stand,
first of all, for a. po-'er of color not neces-
sarily intense, but always fine and strong,
given always to tlr-'jSQ peoples living bet'ween
the mountains and the sea in the warmer tem-
perate cli m^ s. "
84
The nagazine, "Arts & Decorations" paid the follov/-
ing tribute:
"Of the men who have reproduced the West for
itself with no subordinating motive, the most
Drominent arc John Sloan, Hahouri Younf';, in
dra'"in;"s, and Frank I--IcCorar;s. "
In "The History of American Art," I.Ir. Neuhaus gives
Mr. HcComas this flattcrinf" summary:
"In his i-'orks the West has one of its sound e3t
claims for artistic distinction. "
HOIffi j!01 AT P.-i:BHIE BEACH
The 1936 "'.Vho ' s '.inio in America" states that Mr.
and Mrs. IlcComas now make their home at Pebble Beach, Cali-
fornia.
I
85
FRANCIS JOHN HCCOi.iAS
REPRESENTATIVE
WORKS
PAINTINGS:
Athenian Temples
Broken Oak, The
Casltr.s Rotid
City of the Dos<-?rt
Farm V/cll, The
Gibraltar
Island, The, Corfu
Las Casitas
Leona Heights
L'lsle d' Ul.ysRO
Los OlAvos Oak Ti-i^e, A
Mar la so
Mesas of Nov- Mexico
Np.vr j o Gat ewr y
Navajo Village, A
Ncn«' Forest, The
Oak Woods, The
Oaks of the Monto
River, The
Rord, The
Ronda Farms
Ruin Rock
Spanish Afternoon
Sunshine
Walpi
>Vlde Open, The
Zum Pass. The
■>
VARIOUS MURALS
86
PERIwANENT COLLECTIONS:
Metropolitan Museum, New York City
Portlc'^nd Art Society, Portlr.nd, Oreo:on
De Young Mup.eum, San Francisco, CrliforniP.
Ai-" i z o nP- Gat evr. y
Indian Pueblo, Arizona
San Frrrclsoo Musr-un of Art, San Francisco
Indian Villap:e (Sloas beouent)
Cliff Dv-eiloi's (Bender collection)
BoheTT!.1an C"'ub. San Frrncisco
Bridge at Rord.^, Sprin
Mills Collere Art Gallery, Oaklrnd, California
PRIVATE COLLECT lOi.'S:
Tevlo, Dr. ^arry, San Francisco, Callfornip
The Pines, Monterey
Murray, lirs, Janes, kontarey, Crlifornia
Symphony of Historic Monterey
(decorrtiVH ppnel)
Del Monte Lodge, Pebble Beach, California
Two Mural Decorations
Hotel DpI Monte, Del Monte, Crlifornia
Mural Decorrtlons
Decorative '■•^ap Fresco
EXKIBITIOijS:
San Francisco, Cpiifornia, 1002, 1011
Vickery's Gallery, l^OP, 1006, 1008, 1010
Gump's, 1012
Panana-Pacif Ic International Exposition, 1015
Monterey, Calif am la
Monterey Industrial Exposition, 1922
Chicago, Illinois, 1809, 1^-04
Nev York City, 1904
Macbeth Galleries, 1910
Giinpel rnd V/iidenstein' s, 1920
87
Boston, Ivlnssnchur. ottB
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
London, England, 1905
Carfax Gallpry, 1908
Paris, Frrnc?
HONORS AND AWARi^o:
kembpr of th^ J^'-^y, P.'''nama-Paoif ic International
ExToa.Lo.'.on. 1915
V/atp-r Color C.'.ub, .?hiladolohia, Pennsylvania
Dana C-o.,1 kr^^rl --101.8
Americrn Wr-ij-r Color Society, ^^ev York City
Hridnut Pi-i ze_-l ~<21
CLUBS:
ivieraber :
Water Color Club, Philadelpliia Pennsylvania
An.^ricnn Wat- r Color Society, ^e-" York City
Bohemian Club. S,"n Fr^'.ncisco, California
San Frr.ncisco' Art Ar-oociation, Snn Francisco
88
FRANCIS JOHN McCOMAS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Argonaut, March 20, 1899
October 15, 1900 — February 10, 1906
San Francisco Call, October 24, 1902
October 23, 1904 — September 16, 1906
February 19. 1907— -April 25, 1908
July 5, 1908- -November 15, 1908
July 18, 1909— January 29, 1911
San Franoisco Cbronlclc^ June 29, 1905
October ol, 1917
Studio, London Publication, May 1906
Overland liae-'azine, Vol. 50, July 1907
Vol. 66, Page 52; December 1915
Wasp, November 20. 1909
June 15, 1912--Decomber 28, 1912
May 31, 191o--Sentember 18,1917
Ser»tember 8, 1918— -September 9, 1922
October 25, 1924
San Francisco News, April 10, 1910
Galleries at the Panama-Pacific Inter-
national Exposition, 1915 by Eugene Neuhaus
Inscriotion from the Panama-Pacific Inter-
national Exposition, 1915, Page 51
Art in California, 1915
Arts & Decorations, Vol, 14, November 20, 1920
Who's Who in America, 1926-1927-1936
Women's City Club Magzine, September 1927
An Artist in 'Imerica, Chapter on "Hints of
Spain and Italy" by Maxwell Armfield
The History of American Art by Eugene Neuhaus
H. W. HA N SEN
1854 1924
Biography and Works
"STAGE COACH"
89
HERMAN WENDELBORG HANSEN
California art owes much to its European artist col-
onists, who transplanted their art from the old world to the
new, adapted it to orimitive conditions in entirely new sur-
roundings, and, in many cases, left their art\stic sons and
daughters to carry on, in the modern manner, the talent of
their celebrated forebears. Among these artist families, the
Nahls and the Hansens are the most celebrated. Herman
Wendelborg Hansen, nioneer California painter, specialized in
painting the herds of wild horses, the cattle and cowboys of
the open range, mining ai.id Indian types of early Western days.
His paintings now have groat historical value, and his illus-
trations, like those of the Nehls, have become stock types for
Illustrations of the gold rush days of '49.
YOUTH AI^^D EARLY ENVIRONMENT
Herman Wendelborg Hansen wa.s born in the small tovm
of Tellingstadt, near Dittmarschen, Schleswig-Holstein, on the
German Tanish frontier, on June 22, 1854. His father, head of
a school in Telling:iadt, was himself artistically 'inclined,
and was known as a fine dravtghtsnan. "/hile attending public
school in Tellingstadt young Hansen already showed talent for
drawing, and was constantly making sketches of anim.als, par-
ticularly horses in action. In 1070, when only sixteen years
old, his father sent him to Ham.burg to study art under
90
Professor Simonsen, eminent painter of battle and historical
pictures. Later he studied with Professor Heinerdinger, the
painter of still-lifes. The years 1876 and 1877, Hansen spent
in London, visltinfj,' the Royal Acadeny and studying the famous
European painters of the 'leriod in London's art galleries.
The adventurous young German, hearing of the herds
of wild horses, the Indians and cowboys, the adventurous oio-
neers and gold-miners of the West, decided to cross the ocean
and start his art life in the New World.
HS ARRIVES IN AI'^ERICA
Hansen arrived in I'ew York in 1677, studying and
painting there for a year, then ^'ent on to Chicago where he
studied at the Art Institute. 'Vhile in Chicago came his op-
portunity to travel West the North Western Railway giving him
a commission to go to the end of the steel rails in the
Dakotas, to paint advertising scenes. At the end of the line
was a locomotive, all decked out in silver, and this he was to
paint as an advertisement of the progress of transportation.
Besides this picture, he also painted a canal-boat towed by
mules, and a stage-coach, the locomotive then supposed to be
the ultimate in "modern" mechanical progress.
In the cattle country, with its animals and its cow-
boys, where transportation was by means of horse and stage-
coach, mails were d>.elivered by the pony express; while Indians,
herds of buffaloes and v/ild horses roamed the prairies, Hansen
at last realized his desire to see Western life in the raw,
91
and made good use of his time, painting the primitive en-
vironment.
Traveling, first, in the Blue Plidge mountains of
Virginia, the Alleghenies of West Virginia, the Great Smokies
of North Carolina, and in Tennessee, Hansen, on his western
journeys, roamed the cattle country from Canada to the Mexican
border, taking in Wyoming, Montana, Texas, New Mexico, and
Arizona; finally arrived in California in 1882. This was a
business Journey, as he came west to settle the estate of an
elder brother who had died in the High Sierras. So fascinated
was the artist v;ith the California scene, that he decided to
live there.
San Francisco became Hansen's permanent home, and
here he met his v/lfe, Olga Josue of St. Louis, whom he married
on December 6, 1885. The young couple had two children, a
daughtei; Frieda Beatrice and his talented painter son,Armln.
EARLY CRITICISM
Of his canvases, the eminent art critic, Eugene
Neuhaus, said:
"Kls concern was more with realistic photograph-
ic records of frontier life, than with the beau-
ties of design and color, His m.edlura was water-
color, which he used rather thinly. The artis-
tic value of his work is limited, and it will be
remembered largely for its historical signifi-
cance, in that it presents a phase of American
life rapidly passing. "
92
PAINTER'S FIRST EXHIBITION
In comr.on v^ith other pioneer -painters of the Western
scene, Hansen had the exr^erience of being able to sell his
Western pictures in the East and also in Eurorie, "out he was
almost unknovn in California and found difficulty in disposing
of the products of his brush. His first exhibition vas held
in the Morris Galleries, San Francisco, on vjhich the "San
Francisco Call" of October C7, 1901, corjinenteci :
"In the I'!orri3 Gallery the Calcium is Just now
upon a paint inp by Ha.''S2n, that German who is
teaching us things about our own Ai:ierican fron-
tier. It is rather a. bitter r)ill to swallo'Ji' —
the fact that he knows more about interTreting
the frontier than we do ourselves, but we night
as w.ell S'llp i"!^' down and be ;';ra,ceful about it.
"The riicture is called 'An Incident of the
Frontier,' andavery thrilling incident it is,
as v/ell as true to life. A stage is dashing
do'-vn the dusty road pursued hot and close by a
band of Indians. The furious speed of the
horse?, the excited lashing of them by the driv-
er, the swift pursuit all give action that
thrills at a glance. Hansen knov/s the country
too. In this as well as his other work there
is the glittering sunlight of the desert — the
sunlirht that sketches shadows black and sharp.
The 'atmosphere feels ho'c. •
"The horses in this work are studies in them-
selves. Harsen makes a specialty of the West-
ern horse ^., and all of then show the hard life
that they lead. The strength and stubborn en-
durance, that often lie hidden under a weary
aspect, but they are ever ready for the emer-
gencies of their life such as -The Indian
Pursuit.-' One small s'uudy is of a pinto — a
staid-looking old fellow, but a fellow that Kr.
Hansen says -only wants alittle provocation to
show what real bucking is.'"'
This is illustrated by a picture of a stage-coach in
action.
93
CRITICISM OF FRONTIER LIFE
The "Call" critic v;rote about Hansen's, "An Incident
of the Frontier," on December 1, 1901, as follows:
"There are a couple of canvases in the same Gal-
lery by K.W. Hansen, the celebrated portrayer of
frontier life. They are Vka'cer- colors, but are
strong enough for oil. One_. noticeably fine, is
a canvas vith a single figure well to the fore-
ground, that of a mounted cowboy just in the act
of hurlin^j' a lasso. The action is splendid.
The horse comes tearing dovm the slope almost
out of the canvas, nostrils d;ilated, every mus-
cle quivering with excitynent and exercise; the
foreshortening hers- is noticeably good. The
rider has his scclirero pulled well over his
face, which is ruddy frora sunburn but set with
an expression of determination. The dust rises
in a cloud; the atmosphere is that of a hot day
on the Arizona desert, Hansen's work in fron-
tier life has made him a big name in New York."
HANSEN IN SAIJ FRANCISCO S ARTIST COLONY
The artist colony settled on Telegraph Hill, Mont-
gomery Street, Kearny and Clay Streets, at this tine included
such artists as Keith, Cadenasso, Maynard Dixon, G-ottardo
Plazzonl and H.".7, Hansen, who had his studio at 505 Clay
Street. Of the picture, ''Geronimo on a Raid," exhibited in his
Clay Street Studio, the "Call" wrote on April 23, 1905:
"K.W. Hansen is one of the busy men in the art
colony, he seems to revel in work as does our
well beloved Keith.
"At the Hansen studio, 505 Clay Street, are some
pictures the.t ^^rove him the compeer of Remington,
and this without provincialismo If you doubt my
Judgment, go for yourself and see.
"See the picture produced to-day, 'Geronimo on a
Raid, ' depicting the old renegade on one of his
periodical 'tours' over Arizona, when he felt
94
the need of a few new horses. As a portrait of
the toUf'Ch old Apache, it's a 'perfect likeness'
but G-eronimo won't care— -not being a woraan.
"I know this looks like him, because I net the
wily old chap at Buffalo e-.t the Indian Congress,
and had the unspeakable honoi of hearing hira
grunt .
"This picture bears anew interebt at this time,
as the old fellov;, who is a Government prisoner
at Foi't Sill, is now beseeching the president
for his liberty.
"There are those, who accuse Hansen of being so
careful as to drawing, as to be photogratohic. I
would to heaven, mure of our men v;ere similarly
accused. Here's vhe'^e the worker distances mere
genius. "
PICTURES EXHIBITED IN THE EAST
The article is illustrated by Hansen's picture,
"Chief G-eronimo on a Raid. "
In t?ie autumn of 1905, Mr. Frederick Junior, (cura-
tor of the potter Art Gallery in Santa Barbara), traveled up
and down the Coast to gather together a representative collec-
tion of California paintings and to exhibit them in New Yoric,
Chicago, and Boston. The "Call" commented on the exhibition at
the Occidental Hotel, in San Francisco on Seiotenber 10, 1905:
"Have you seen the exhibition of paintings at
the Occidental?
"Then take half of your noon hour tomorrow — you
busy man of the shop, office, and counting
house — and seek ouc che rooms on the second
floor of the old hoi^'^.u where Frederic JunlT is
showing tv/enty-f:.v'^ of H,''V. Hansen^ s pictures of
the great gray We&t, besides canvases of Sidney
Yard, Jam.3S C-riffln, Hem^y Raschen, C. Chapel
Judson, Thad Welch, and John H. Gamble. And you,
madam, of easy hours, let not a week go by with-
95
out acquaintance with these pictures. They are
gathered here primarily for the nucleus of an
Eastern Exhibition — in Chicago and in Nev; York,
where Mr, Junior will oioneer the first dealers
display of California -vork.
"Not all of the pictures are of equal quality,
even as all days are not Junes.- but the prepon-
derance of high-class vork is worthy of a
thoughtful visit.
"The Hansen exhibit is, to be sure, the center
around which the display is hung, since tv/enty-
fivo paintings are shovm of this California ri-
val of Remington.
"Yesterday a bunch of Army Officers drifted in —
men v/ho know the groat -olains of the West, the
buckaroos and the bronchos that tear over them.
They v/ore joined by a couple of cattlemen who
know the horse and the steer as the nother knows
her babe — and I listened. What these men said,
these men v/ho knov; the plains, as thoy stood be-
fore 'The Cowboy Ra.ce' wo^ild/in print, be a scr-
ies of exclamatioii points. The life of it, the
hurrah in it, the mad gallop, the smell of the
dust and the ringing of the cheers, brought a
glisten to the eyes of the army r.en. And they
lived over again the scenes about the desert and
plains posts, \''hcro the cov'boy, vilth his dare-
devil tricV;s stirred tilings up for the prairie-
bound folk at the post.
"Beyond the story it tells, and the blood it
stirs, there's a landscape that ' s a good picture
in itself. As to the draviring and coloring — but
why go into details, '7hcn the whole is so splen-
did in effect? Then there's the stage coach
picture, 'Early Days,' and the two that hang by
it, 'A Steep Trail' and 'A Short-cut.' The
'Scratching for a Living,' reached the heart of
a big, burly cattlcrr.an, v;ho looked a long while
at the bunch of starving horses, with ribs
scarce hid beneath the hide, nibbling at the dry
grease-weed of the desert. Mcthinks I sav/ a
tear in his eye, as ho ""alked away from the pic-
ture. Vvas ho carried back to a hot year, when
Nature dried her breasts and refused to nourish
his cattle— ^and they stai'vod liko this? "
96
So well received wore Hansen's pictures in the East,
where his Wild West types, cattle, cowboys, and herds of wild
horses and buffaloes v;crc a novelty, th;it no less than five of
his canvases wore sold there. "Tlie Stage Coach" was sold to a
Pittsburg millionaire, and the picture so took his fancy, that
he ordered a companion picture to hang with it in his collec-
tion.
HANSEN WINS ACCLAIM IN EUROPE
Abroad, no less ■:han in the East, the novelty of
Hansen's frontier type pictures attracted purchasers when they
were exhibited. In London, three out oi five canvases exhib-
ited, found purchasers. Lord Waring adraii'ed and bought
"Caught at Last," a picture of a tinber-vrolf caught in a trap;
another large Western picture v.-as bought by Baron Karsloff of
St. Petersburg, and a third took the fancy of Count Oshkoff of
Moscov;'. The "London Tines" of 1905 states that t'vo paintings
of Hansen's were ex'^ibited at the Trave].ers' Club in London,
which were puichased by Lord Durand durinf; his travels in
Ainerica.
He exhibited in the Heinenann G-alleries in Munich
and in the Pai'is Salon, v^here his picture o"" a stampede of
wild horses atti-acted favorable attention.
HE LOSES ALL IN F^IFE
After the San Francisco fire and earthquake of 1906,
when he lost everything in his studio at 600 Montgomery
97
Street, including a valuable Indian collection of curios,
Hansen moved across the Bay to Alaincda, where ho took a studio.
Of an exhibition held in San Francisco during this period, "The
San Francisco Call" of February 4, 1907 commented:
"Comparisons are often impertinent, but some-
times they seem to be inevitable. It is impos-
sible to see the exhibition of paintings by H.W,
Hansen, now at the local dealers, without think-
ing of Frederick Remington, whose Vv'ork, with the
prerogatjve of the illustrator over the painter
of pictures is known to everybody. Hansen's
subjects are almost identical, and if his work
lacks some of the ciiapness of ouiillne and the
vividness of coloring seen in Remington's, he
makes up for it in "Uhe greater softness and fin-
ish. There is action and spirit in every line
of his cov;boys and Indians, and in the tense
muscles of his horses. As a. painter of the West,
he interprets its true spirit. Among the paint-
ings exhibited, are some Winter scenes from
Wyoming, done in watercolors. One of them con-
tains a group of horses huddled together, and is
perhaps the best of the pictures of horses.
There is an almost human expression in the faces
of the suffering animals.
"Hansen is one of the San Francisco painters,
who have oeen fortunate after the fire in dis-
posing of much of their woi'k."
Fortunately, many valuable paintings in the Potter
Art Gallery in Santa Barbara were saved, and the millionaire,
Adolphus Busch of St. Louis bought six of his paintings for
$10,000.
On November 1, 1908 the "Call" said:
"A most successful exhibition of paintings by
two California artists, Thad Welch and H.W.
Hansen, has just been brought to a close in
Chicago, vfith tne result that most of the work
has been sold. Thad Welch, whose collection
consisted of five very large canvases of Marin
County scenes, never had better pictures on ex-
hibition.
98
"Hansen, knovm as desert and animal painter, of
wonderful strength and virility, had a powerful
canvas 36 x 50 of western life that sold the
first day. Since then, five other canvases have
been disposed of at top prices^ Hansen's work
has been purchased by notable foreign visitors
to this country; among whom are Lord Durand of
London and Count Oshkoff of Moscow., The work of
both Welch and Hansen is exhibited hi California,
almost exclusively, at the Hotel Potter in Santa
Barbara, where it is vie-wed ty many tourists and
many canvases taken east before Californians
have a chance to see thera. That Hansen is espe-
cially a painter of extraordina.ry merit is well
recognized. "
The same paper commented on Hansen' s Chicago exhibi-
tion on November 29, 1908;
"Signal honors ha7e been accorded Hansen, the
California animal painter- on his recent exhibi-
tion in Chicago. His large painting, 'A Stam-
pede of Horses by Horse Thieves,' has been sold
and will occupy a place cf hcr.or in the Auditor-
ium Hotel, Cliicago. bet>vaer. a Rosa Bonheur and a
Schreyer, as noted befor^o Kvery one of Hansen's
big pictures has been snapped up in the east,
and Frederick Junior of the potter Art Gallery
of Santa Barbara, where most of Hansen's work is
exhibited, is to be warmly congratulated on the
manner in v/hich the exhibitions have been con-
ducted. "
ARTIST VISITS EUROPE
In the autumn of 1909, Hansen took his family to
Europe, where they visited his talented son Arrain, then paint-
ing and studying abroad. For eight months the Hansens toured
the art galleries of England, Germany, France, Italy, Holland
and BelgiLun. The elder Hansen v\ron many admirers for his pic-
tures, and in 1911 won the Grand Prize at the St. Petersburg
Exposition.
99
Upon his return to America in 1911, Hansen again
took up his residence in San Francisco, then the art center
of the Pacific Coast, and occupied a studio in the Lick
Building.
HIS_DEATH
Only three months "before his death, on April 22,
1924, the versatile artist turned to etching, one of his fin-
est ventures with, the etcher's needle being "Winter in the
Northwest. "
HANSEN'S PLAv'S IN ART
Harry Noyes Pratt writes of ''Etching in California"
in the "Overland" of May 1924, in which he gives an obituary
of Hansen:
"It is, perhaoSj an unusual procedure to place
among the foremost etchers of California, one
who is unknown, save to a few, as a follower of
the craft
"Hansen has r^roduced few plates — he took vp the
needle only a few months ago— whereas his fame
as a painter extends over many years, and is
international in extent,
"Yet there is reason, at this time, for giving
space to his story, for he has started out on
his last pilgrimage, has undertaken the great-
. est adventure of all. And there is important
reason in the last plate he made, for giving
him prominent place among California etchers.
His 'Winter I'l ohe Northwest- iii its conception
and execution, holds uhe element of greatness.
Seeing it, 1 am convinced thac he had potential
ability as an ercher. which had he lived, would
in a short period have given him greater fame
than his painting.
f
100
" There was in him, latent then, (in his
student days in Hambur,?), a spirit of adventure,
which, pcrhaDS, received ita awar.enins when he
was associated as a pupil with Professor Simon-
sen, the famous painter of battle scenes. But
it was Fennimoro Cooper, with his stirring
tales of America- s untrac'ted prairies, which
definitely set his feet in the wanderer's path.
He left the home country for England in 1876.
and a year later arrived in the land of his
dreams
"His pilgrimage was alvp.ys westward With
his first glimpse of the boundless prairies and
the colorful life they held, Hansen knew he had
found his own, . .- . . Few pair.oers of our time
have had such widu reo reduction of their pic-
tures as Hansen. His 'Pony Exuress' riders,
his stage coaches, with their plunging teams and
following Indians', his cowboys, have found many
a strange haven; have known appreciation in many
an unexpected place.
"He knew the West of the o].d days more inti-
mately than any painter of his time, with the
possible exceoticn of Remington. .... .He roughed
it, months at* a tine. in tho Indian country of
the southwest and the northwest. He knew the
range, with its wild residents, its riders and
horses, thoroughly and well. He added to his
knowledge an enthusiastic love of his subject,
together with a draughtsmanship seldom surpassed.
"Artists of a younger day, a generation less
carefully trained in the fundamentals of art,
have so-newhat sligh'cingly referred to work such
as his, as illustrative. True--but why not? In
that lies o^e quality, though not the only
quality, which makes the '"ork of H.W. Hansen an
invaluable contribution to pictorial art. His
paintings and drawings a^e historical documents.
When Hansen ->ainced a Crow Indian, it was a
Crow, correctly dressed, in the environment and
with' the manner of the urow. His Sioux, his
Apache, was that and nwuhmg else,. His Pony Ex-
press riders i-'ere men ^1 :he Old V/est, accoutred
exactly as were the riaers of that day.
"This oaiiistaking attention to detail was one of
the features which placed his work ahead of any
contemporary in his line; and yet, after all, it
I,
101
vms but a minor thing. Correct as were his de-
tails, carefully executed as were the anatomical
features of his animals and men, these were nev-
er allowed to burden or to mtei'fere with the
spirit of his painting. He knev; his men and his
animals, inside and out, and usevl their outv/ard
seeming, merely that It might express that which
was transpiring within.
"He loved horses. It was the horse which formed
the prime motif of his work. It may be that he,
some time, painted a canvas which did not hold a
horse; if he did, I have not seen the picture.
It was the horse which afforded him the real
means foi* telling his story what a shortcoming
that is, in the mind cf today's generation of
painters, to tell a sto'^o-— and it was usually
his pleasure to tell a tale cf some sort, dram-
atic, tragic or of the everyday. And how he
could tell itl
"He was an Indefatigable worlcer, almost to the
end. His work retained to the last, the de-
lightfully imaginative ojaalit}; v/hich gave his
pictures general appeal. His hand was as sure,
his lines as free and virile, his colors as
fresh and pure, as a qiiai'ter of a century be-
fore. Of the alinost countless pictures which
felt the impress of his touch, only a few re-
mained unsold at his death. They were pictures
which always found a ready sale, even at the
prices v.'hich his work commanded. They were of
the sort which found loved and honored place,
both with the connoisseur and vith the layman.
"This has not been intended as a critical dis-
cussion of the art of H.V/. Hansen. It has been
merely a tribute to the splendid gentleman,
whose faith in his fellow men persisted, in
spite of disappointment. It is a farewell to
the artist^ xihc so quietly, so unassumingly and
so sincerely sent forth from San Francisco his
message of oeauty.. '■'
C^^vT^USIQii.
"Hansen uold the story of the Old West in Paintings,"
said Harry Noyes Pratt on another occasion, and it is in this
102
almost photographic quality of his pictures, that Hansen's
value to the art of California lies, in that it depicts for
future generations the history of the pioneer settlers, the
drama and tragedy of their lives; the wild horse and buffa-
lo which roamed the prairies, now almost extinct, and the
life of the cowboys, miners and Indians who lived in a more
picturesque age than ours. Hansen was, unfortunately, one of
many of the pioneer painters who struggled and starved; and
was unable to make a living by his art in the west, until he
had obtained recognition in Ev.rope and in the east. But,
from the first, Hansen's paintings had popular appeal, and
they, as well as his numerous illustrations for newspapers
and magazines, soon assured him a comfortable living. He was
actively at v/orK in his studio, almost until the end, pursu-
ing the even tenor of his way, his art untouched by any mod-
ern influence. His son, Arrain Hansen, one of California's
most celebrated artists among the younger, modern group, is
actively carrying on the artistic traditions of the family in
his portrayals of the California scene.
103
H.W. HANSEN
REPRESENTATIVE
WORKS
Caught at Last (bought by Lord V/arlng of London)
Cowboy Race, The
Early Dpys
Geronimo on a Raid
Incident of the Frontier, An
Pony Express, T^io (owned by William C. Henshaw;
loaned to' the V/ells Fargo Nevada National
Bank for their celebration in 1923, )
Scratching for a Living
Stage- Coach, The
Stampede of Horses by Horse Thieves
V/int-r in the Northwest (an etching)
EXHIBITIONS:
San Francisco, Gnlifornla
Mo r r i s Qrl lories, 1901
An Incidf-nt of the Frontier
The Indian Pursuit
Occidental Hotel, September 1905
The '''o'-boy Race
Scrat.h:.ng for a Living
Santa Barbara California
Potter A.rt G-allery
London, ii:igl.''.nd
Travelers Club, 1905
Munich, C-ernany
Heinemrmn C-nllprics
104
AWARDS:
CLUBS:
Paris, France
Salon
Chlcap:o, Illinois, IPCS
A Stanpede of Horses by Horse Thieves
St. Petorsburc^, Russia, 1911
Grand Prix, international Exhibit ian
No Associations Recorded
H.W. HANSEN
ilBLIOGRAPKY
San Frr^ncisco Call, October 27, 1?^01
December 1, ?C01, Fp."-e 15
April 23, 1905, Prpe 19
September 10, 1905— February 4, If'O?
November 1, 1^' 03—- November 2^', 1^08, Page 29
OverL'^nd ii'ipazine, liay 1924, Paer 24
History nnd Ideals of Americen Ai-t
'oy Eup;ene Heuhaus
ARM IN C. HANSEN
looo ••••• • • •
Biography and Works
"BEFORE THE WIND"
SAN FRANCISCO l.rJSEUIv: OF ART
105
ARMIN C. HANSEN
Inheriting the artistic tradition from his father,
Armin Hansen is an outstandins^ rsDresentative of the modern
group of California-born artists on the Pacific Coast. From
his G-erman ancestors cones his love of the sea, away from
which he is never haprjy. He lives beside it on the pictur-
esque, rock-bound coast of Monterey, its fantastic rocks crowi-
ed with gnarled and twisted pine trees, veiled mysteriously
in eai''ly mornin^; fogs, or resplendent in the flaming sunsets
of the West. Some Viking blood must run in Hansen's veins, so
akin is he to the men who sail the sea, and so attuned to the
moods of the miglity ocean, wi.ich he has deioicted raging in vio-
lent storm, and smiling-: in peaceful, sunlit calm. Hansen has
made a distinguished place for iiluself, both as a painter and
as an etcher, and by his radical iaethods has struck the modern
note among the second generation cf California artists, as dis-
tinct from the formalism and photographic accuracy of painting,
and the grandiose canvases indulged in by the pioneer painters,
who came to the West wj.tb the traditional European technique,
and who followed faithfully the European schools.
IOM^L-MlD_s^i-X_ENYIRQNMMI
Son of Herman V/endelburg Hansen, G-erman artist, and
Olga Josue of St, Louis, I.lissouri , Armin was born in San Fran-
cisco on October Cord, 1836. He v.'as married at San Jose on
106
June 16, 1922 to Frances Rives of Danville, Virginia, and has
a son Wendelburg, thirteen years old. His wife is also a paint-
er, and exhibits in Monterey under her own narae of Frances
Rives,
YouHij Hansen received }iis education in San Francisco
and in Alai:ieda, across the Bay. G-roving up in artistic sur-
roundings and constantly hearing talk of art and artists, with
the example of the elder Hansen always before his eyes, Arnin
early developed a love of Dainting. He received his earliest
art lessons from his father, a strict disciolinarian, who made
the boy complete an allotted task in drawing or tainting each
day. In 1903, v/hen the family moved to San Francisco, young
Armin at seventeen, attended the Ilaric Hopkins Institute of Art,
studying, among others, under Arthur Mathers, the celebrated
teacher and mural painter.
After two years study in San Francisco, where Armin' s
artistic talent was already recognized by his teachers, his
father sent him abroad for advanced studies in Europe. In
1906, the twenty-year-old youth set forth on his travels,
crossed the continent to New York and, after a short stay cm-
barked for Hai.'^burg. He studied in the ateliers and art gal-
leries of Munich, and at the Royal Academy at Stuttgart under
Carlos Grethe, thence oroceedirg to Holland, Paris, and Antwerp.
LIFE /J:ID the FISHL^iCTI AT NIEUPORT
After two years study in Stuttgart, young Hansen de-
cided to go to Belgium, taking a studio at Nieuport, near the
107
gay, cosmopolitan resort of Ostende, with its palatial ho-
tels, glittering gambling Casino and famous board-walk on
the "Plage." In the simple artj.st colony at Nieuport, liv-
ing and working with the humble fisher-folk, sailing the
North Sea with its su-Men, violent storms, its icy gales of
snow and sleet, for a meagre catch of fish destined for the
city mai'kets and the tables of the rich, Hansen knew hunger
and privation at first hand. It vras these experiences that
gave him his intimate knowledge of fishermen tynes, of life
on the sailing boats and travelers, and the dram.a in the anx-
ious vigil of the women, waiting on the flat, dreary sand
dunes of the coast, when the North Sea was lashed to fury by
a gale and none knev; if eJl the boats in the fishing fleet,
with their precious human cargo, would return. It was the
moods of the North Sea, and the fisher-folk in their moments
of dramatic struggle with the elements, v/hich Hansen immor-
talized on canvas, and it v7as with his marines of the Bel-
gian coast that the young painter first won recognition In the
art exhibitions of Europe.
BEGINS ETGFilNG AI'D WINS PRIZE IN BRUSSELS
Hansen's first attempt at etching was made in his
little fisherman^ s liouse at Nieuport, the plate bitten on a
sheet of zinc, torn frcn the stove in his room. On his re-
turn to San Francisco, he v'as thankful if he could sell these
first impressions for five dollars, little realizing how ea-
gerly they would be sought after by collectors in later years.
*1
108
I
The young artist began sho"dng his paintings at ex-
hibitions in Brussels, the Art Academy in Munich and the Sa-
lon de Printemps in Paris. He had the distinction of winning
a prize with his canvas, "Lov; Tide," in the Brussels Art Ex-
hibition of 1910. The critical acclaim young Hansen won in
his first exhibitions abroad, was reflected in the local
critics' attitude towards his v^ork. The San Francisco Call
of September 4, 1910 commented:
"Word has come from Europe of the flattering
success of young Armin C. Hansen of this city,
son of the faiaous painter of that name. A-
mong the 5000 paintin&s recently submitted
from all parts of Europe for the famous an-
nual Brussels art exhibition, his marine study
entitled low Tide' was one of the 500 accept-
ed, and was hu'ig in a very prominent place.
It has received most fa^'^orable comments from
the highest art critics cf Belgium as show-
ing great promise for the future, along a line
of his own as unique as that of his illustri-
ous father.
"'Low Tide' is a canvas nearly five feet square
showing a number of weatherbeaten fishing boats
drawn up on the shore, with water receding from
the warm, moist sand. The whole is worJied up
in a minor key, soft and rich in color and low
in tone, blended to a harmonious whole, beneath
a sky golden in tint from the beauty of the
late afternoon light.
"Hansen has had paintings accepted by the Mu-
nich Academy, where his energy of style and
fineness of color have v;on him special mention
from the crioic-al art jury — and later on, be-
fore returning horns, he will submit a oainting ■
to the Paris jai-ou. Eventually, hov/ever, he
will return to California and open a studio of
his own in this city."
109
I
RETURNS TO CALIFORMIA
After exhibiting In Europe and gaining critical ap-
preciation, Arnin Hansen decided to return to California in
1912, talcing up his headquarters in a studio in the Lick
Building in San Francisco. In the San Francisco Call of
December 22, 1912, Porter Garnett wrote:
"Armin C. Hansen, vho recently returned from
abroad, and has established himself in a tem-
porr-.ry studio in the Lick Building, has more
tlian 100 canvases stacked against the walls
there. It has been quite impossible to see
all of these plct-ires, but the 20 or so the
a.rtj st dragged out for me and placed on the
easel for inspection, are of such interest,
that I promise myself the pleasure of going
back again, in order that I may tell myself
more about Hansen's remarkable work. If any-
one's -oatience Is to be tried, it vdll be the
artist's and not tho vriter's, for I loo'ii for-
ward with nothing but pleasure in spending
several hours v.'ith his work. That is the kind
of work It is. It is bold and fresh and in-
tcrestin;.'. It is work that holds your inter-
est so completely, that you cannot be satis-
fied v;ith a casual, ins section of it. At a
date as yet undo te mined, Hansen will hold an
exhibition, and those who road "'hat I say
here will then understand, why I feel that an
ODinion, howcvci favorable, based upon- an' ex-
amination of only a moiety of his xvork, must
fail to do him Justice.
"Tho hundred and more canvasc^s, thfit Hanson
has just broii^ht through the Custom House,
represent his labors of the last four years
In Belgium. They arc noteworthy for a vig-
orous indi\idualit2/ expressed In a fine col-
or sense riid an unusual .faculty for exnress-
ing atmos:ohcre. I.-i his grayer pictures, of
v/hich I saw sovt.;ral, notably 'The Old Farm-
house,' he takes you out under cloudy skies
into a landscaoo in v-hioh you feel that you
can walk and breathe. A picture which ho
110
calls 'The Blue Hour,' is a remarkable render-
ing of an effect observed on the Flemish coast,
when, .just after sunset, sxy, sea and land take
on blue and violet tones, of v;hich he is very
fond, v.'ith adr.irable discretion, avoiding the
undignified Quality associated with purple in
the I'Vork of many painters.
"T"'o snov.'-pieces, shov;ing the canals at Nieu-
port, are particularly fine, and highly inter-
esting as compositions. A small picture of
the waterfront at Ostende is among the art-
ist's least considei'ed but most charming pro-
ductions.
"Of his etchings and drawings, and particular-
ly of certain large canvases, th^t the condi-
tion of his studio would not permit him to show,
I shall have more to say after another visit."
FIPIST SAX FRAI^CISCO EXHIBITION PRAISED BY CRITICS
Hansen'? first Sai. Francisco exhibition after his
return from abroad was given at the Helgesen Gallery. Por-
ter Garnett wrote his impressions in the San Francisco Call
of March 2, 1913:
"The exhibitions of oaintlngs of West Flanders
by Arnin C. Hansen, which opened yesterday at
Helgesen' n G-allery, will surprise everyone who
has not already seen this young artist's work,
with its freshness and vigor.
''Armin Hansen, who is the son of H.W. Hansen,
the well-known painter of Western scenes, was
only a student when he left San Francisco in
1905. He returns an artist, with a style that
is solidly established, and his work so re-
flects the newer impulse in art, th.nt his pre-
sent exhibition should command the attention
of everyone Interested in painting. It must
be owned that the gallery, with the 24 can-
vases, ma-:e3 an instantaneously favorable im-
pression of fine color, strength and an unusu-
al pictorial perception.
Ill
"The quality of the individual items of the
collection becomes more apparent when they
are studied. There is not an indi.fferent
piece of v;ork in the exhibition, so far as
painting goes, althouf^h some persons will be
more sympathetic with certain subjects than
with others. Among the smaller canvases,
v;hich may in the nature of things be over-
povjered by tine larger pictures, are several
that represent the artist at his best. Among
these, tv;o should be mentioned in particular.
These are 'On The Waterfront, Ostende, ' and
'The Life Saver's V7ntch. ' Other small can-
vases of distinct interest are 'Fishing Boats
at the Quay' and 'The Lock-Keeper's House.'
"The collection contains three striking still-
lifes, in which the artist has given his feel-
in:,' for luxuriant color full play. They dis-
play the vigor of modernity, and are such work
as only an artist of unusvial power could accom-
plish.
"It is not possible to speak of all the pic-
tures in the exhibition, but 'The Blue Hour,'
'Canal Boats st Tne Lock' and 'In the Rainy
Season, ' are ar.i ong the important canvases that
call for special mention. It v;ill be inter-
esting to observe Mr. Hansen's vrork in inter- •
preting California scenery, into the render-
ing of which he may be exoected to impart a
fresh and vigorous note. "
In the San Francisco Call of April 20, 1913, Porter
Garnett again commented Hansen's exhibition at the San Fran-
cisco Institute of Art, as follo'7s:
"Those who have not seen the paintings, draw-
ings and etchings of Armin C. Hansen, have
missed sef;ing the work of the most vigorous
personal influence in painting that we have in
San Francisco at the present time.
The same critic wrote further in the San Francisco
Call of May 8, 1913:
"Pictures by Hansen are at Helgesen's G-allery
and also at the G-allery of Rabjohn and Morcom,
112
He has been exhlbitinc, in conjunction -with
Miss Isabel Percy, at the Shell Club at Oak-
land, and he has shown at the Institute, as
well as having a special exhibition of his
work at Kelgjesen's.
"There can be no doubt, therefore, that he has
made his art known to the public, and it seems
an inevitable consequence, that he is making
his influence felt among students of art who
are in need of just that fresh and vitalizing
impulse, which he is so well fitted to im.part.
Younger and less experienced painters can de-
rive much benefit from what Hansen has learn-
ed in Eui'ooe, whei-e he was exposed to the
stui'dier influence of modern art. Now that he
is about to apply him.self to the painting of
California scor.ery, it v;lll be Interesting to
see, ho'7, with his modernity, his freshness
and his individuality, he will interpret Cali-
fornia in art. "
TMES STUDIO IN THE LATIN QUARTER
Tht; young artist had apparently settled down in San
Francisco, taking a studio and con(f ucting classes at 728 Mont-
gomery 5tre(?t, in the Latin Q,uarter, where artists and writers
had thoir studios near the picturesque restaurants, gambling
houses and dives, am.id the colorful Bohemian life of the mad,
bad Barbary Coast, and the opium dens, restaurants and silk and
curio shops of Chinatown, yet Hansen's restless, untamed spirit
still hankered for the turbulent, restless soa, the salt tang
of the v'ind blowing from the ocean, and the simple, kindly
fisher-folk, amid whom he had dwelt so long.
OPENS ART CLASSES IN MONTEREY
When summer came to San Francisco, the young painter
found the confines of the busy city unbearable, and suddenly
113
decided to move down to the seashore on the beautiful Monte-
rey coast.
Here for several years, Hansen conducted private
classes in his studio, on a large estate, with twenty-seven
acres of wooded gardens, on the edge of town, overlooking the
blue waters of Monterey Bay. Here he developed his idea of
posing the nodel in the open air, and studying the figure
v/ith outdoor effects and lighting, with a background of sea
and sky, instead of the conventional studio walls.
Colorful Monterey, with its rugged, picturesque
coastline, where the turbulent Pacific breakers dash against
the gnarled old pine trees, stunted and bent by the wind, its
historic old missions and remains of Spanish days of the Dons
and the Conquistadores, is an artist's paradise, with its
beautiful seascapes and landscapes. Farther south, lie the
fantastic rock formations of Point Lobos, and the hardly ex-
plored wilderness of Big Sur.
ARTISTS SETTLE IN MONTEREY PENINSULA
The ancient Spanish town of Monterey, with its old
adobe houses, Spanish Governor's Palace, Custom House, Mis-
sion church and Presidio, is rich in legend and history; it
was the second mission and military presidio to be founded by
Father Junipcro Serra and his adventurous band of exploring
priests and soldiers, on his journey northward from Mexico
City and San Diego* Monterey today, still retains the atmos-
i
114
phere of the old Spanish da.ys, with its crooked, cobbled
streets. Mn.ny people, famous in literature and art, have
stamped their impress on the toxvn, and still standing, is the
ancient adobe house v/here Robert Louis Stevenson lived. Many
Italians, Portuguese and ivicxican fishermen live in the small
shacks and i^ather togetheij singing and chatting in the crook-
ed alleys of the little to-vn, headquarters for the sardine
fishery of the Coast. In the season, migrant workers flock
there from every state on the coast, to work under high pres-
sure amid the oil, blood and entrails of the sardine canner-
ies— strange contrast to the "manana" attitude of Spanish
days. Hear Monterey where the placid Carrael River flov/s
through the rich meadows and lush pasture lands of the valley
lies Father Serra's old Mission, San Carlos de Borromeo, to
v/hich he removed after the rough and roistering Spanish sol-
diers of the Commandante at the Presidio had debauched and
corruotcd his Indian converts. In starlr. contrast between the
severe simolicity of the aiicient adobe mission, is the modern
luxury resort of Del I.Ionte, with its palatial hotel, golf
courses, and the Seventeen Mile Drive at Pebble Beach; here,
wealth and fashion followed in the footsteps of the padres,
and in those of the artists, who, years ago founded the art-
ists' colony of Cai-nel-by-the-Sea.
A coterie of painters of the Monterey Peninsula have
banded together to form the Carmel Art Association, of v;hich
115
Armin Hansen is president. They have their o^'/n exhibition
galleries, v/hose shows attract not only California residents
but connoisseurs from the East — such Is their distinction in
the art world.
One oi" the earliest artist dv/ellers in Monterey,
and prominent in the art and literary circles in Carmel, tak-
ing a part in the direction of the colorful Beaux Arts Ball,
Hansen has seen Carmel 's development, from a few studios
built haphazard on shore or pine-clad rocks on some attract-
ive site, v/here a beai^tiful view was more to be desired than
accessibility — or in the small village, v/ith its unpaved
streets, where the Innovation of electric li^^hting was fierce-
ly fou,;ht ''oy the dj e-hards — to its present ncsitionas an ex-
pensive, pseudo-Bohemian resort, where the real intellectuals
and artists have to barricade themselves agai.nst the curious
stares of summer tourists, and high rents have forced its
artists to seek beauty and seclusion in some more inacces-
sible spot. Carmel has shared the fate of other artist col-
onies— first ca^^e the artists and writers, lured by beauty,
congenial spirits and lov/ prices; then some rich art matron
or seeker after "Bohfemian" life follows; spreads the word —
the real-estate speculators and hotel-non come en the scene —
and the art colony becomes a pleasure resort for the wealthy.
It has happened in Greenwich Village, clustering around the
old houses of Washington Square in New York; in the fishing
I
I
116
village of Provincetovm, Massachusetts; and to the ado'oe-
house dwellers in Santa Fe, New Mexico, who fled to Taos pue-
blo, and have beun overtaken oven there. From beauty, art
and peace tn industrial exploitation, the cycle has been ever
the same.
A CRITICAL APPRECIATION
An appreciation of Hansen's work is given in the
Wasp of Novonbcr 11, 1916, by Blanche M. d'Harcourt, who
conmcnted on his exhibition at the Helgesen Gallery in San
Francisco as follov.'s:
"I'r. Hanson is one of San Francisco's most
promising young artists, whose work shows con-
tant improvement. In this present exhibition
are to be found several nev; notes in composi-
tion and color, and vhile this new work shows
very clever handling, we prefer Mr. Hanson's
marine canvases, especially of the fisher folk.
It is in such a work as 'Off for the Night
■ Catch' thT.t the artist reaches Ms greatest
height, for here wo have not only clever brush
v;ork, but we have also that subtle something
called 'atmosphere,' which is as elusive as the
'charm' of certain personalities. There is a
certain dramatic element in the life of a fish-
erman or sailor, and it is this note •'"hat Mr.
Hansen has emohasized. At the present time, we
have too few folit pictu.i-es, or jjictures repre-
senting types, and we hope Mr. Hansen vrill con-
tinue to bring to mind the lives of these sim-
ple people, Vi/ho daily face death, and who re-
flect in their bearing something of the gran-
deur with which they are ever in close commun-
ion. The very breath of salt air clings about
these fisher folk canvases of Hansen's. Such
tyoes are worthy of the greatest artist's at-
tention,
"The 'Golden Hillside' is truly a golden pic-
ture, full of feeling with a singing quality
I
117
of Autumn glow about it, 'Fisherman's Land-
in.-c, Monterey' is a blue picture. The lovely
Bay of Llontei^ey from the wharf stretches off
into the distance, in a blue haze that is mys-
tical and encha.ntinf. There is so much depth
to certain shades of blue, that one loses one-
self in its shado^,7s, when gazing into a blue-
tonod canvas such as t]iis. The green tones
may be more restful, but there is a magic
greatness about the blue of the sky or the
ocean that carries one av/ay, and unless one
docs respond to the color note of a Dlcture,
half the charm and onjoynent is lost. In fact
it is mho'L cric does resnond to the color har-
monics of the oeintcd canvas that one's en-
joyment is greatest, for vhen a picture can
cari'y you araii beyond any critical point, to
sheer enjoyment of its color scheme, then it
has achieved more than mere perfection in tech-
nique,
''Mr. Hansen is fearless in his r.ethod of pre-
scntj.ng h^ s subject. If in few broad strokes
of his brush, he can express the figure of a
woiHan seated at a tabic with a rod parasol
over her, then he rists content. This can-
vas, 'The Red Parasol,' tells as much as if he
hc?d carefully drawn and outlined the figure
and ^resented it with all the smoothness of a
portrait.
"This simple. direct nanner of painting, is
winning favor every day, and maoh praise is due
these younger men, who have had the courage of
their convictioxis and have dared to depart fl^om
the old aca(3cmiG traditions. We have learned
at last that to reproduce a scene or object
with Tohotographic faithfulness is no art, but
to tell the most with as little outlay of ma-
terial as possible, has been the aim of all
the great artists of the past generation."
Hansen's palace in art is defined by Professor Eu-
gene Nouhaus, the celebrated critic and vi'iter or\ art in his
book, "The History and Ideals of American Art," as follows:
118
"Amon^ the younger men, Armin Hansen is con-
tributing a new and strong note to this sub-
,5ect, by his broadly painted interpretation of
the Italian fisheruen who follow their trade
on the Bay of L'onterey.
"Hansen Js "first of all a painter, and his work
has unusual breadth combined with inarjced ex-
pressive quality, not often found in broad
brushv/ork. His color harmonies are rich, wheth-
er he oaints the grey symphonies of a foj^jgy day.
or the TiOre typical blues and greens and pur-
ples of the California sea. "
At Del Monte a series of exhibitions of small paint-
ings, "thumb-nail'- sketches, had been arranged, on which Jose-
phine Blanch connented in the Wasp of January 5,1918, as fol-
lows;
"A very interesting exhibition is now in prog-
ress at Del Monte G-allery. On two of the small-
er walls have been arranged temr)orarily about
fifty little pictures by well-known artists,
who are regulcar contributors to its exhibitions.
The collection includes large sketches, thumb-
box sketches, and small paintings carried fur-
ther than the usual sketch.
"The thumb-box exhibition, so-callod, has been
featured in the eastern art centers for some
years oast and has been favorably received by
the art-loving public. The good work in the
present exhibition, is too abundant for indi-
vidual mention except for the few, but it is a
most interesting one of little pictures, some
lively and spontaneous but a number of very
serinus bits of Art.
"Armin Hansen's 'Tv;ilight, Monterey Bay,' is
one of his latest and best little pictures.
The whole canva^. is subdued, to thu mystery of
twilight, a quiet sea, and a lonely beach, a-
galnst which the s^u'f gently breaks — two fig-
ures are dimly seen in the gathering foau. It
is free from edges, atiaosphuric , and big in
feelin-:;."
119
The Wasp critic of March 6, 1920 also commented on
the Del Monte Exhibition:
"The Del Monte Salon is one cf the most attract-
ive Art Galleries on the Pacific Coast, and
is visited by connoisseurs and art lovers from
all pai'ts of the country. The splendid sketch-
es and paintings that are exhibited, are the
work of California artists, and excite a great
deal of admiration and coninent.
"Among some of the well-known men and women who
are exhibiting their art are Gottardo Piaz-
zoni, Arnia Harsen^ . . . .men and vfomen who paint
sincere Ly, anC v.'ho are nov; making the art his-
tory of Calliornia. "
The same critic wrote in the Wasp of September 9,
1922, as follows:
"The I'lonterey Peninsula which has been herald-
ed the World over for the prtists and works of
art which they have produced, is to be given
one of the greatest exhibitions of paintings
at the Monterey Industrial Exposition now go-
ing on, ever in the history of California,
L » « • e
"Gouverneur Morris, the famous short story writ-
ei', acted as chairman of arrangements and in-
troduced many interesting and entertaining fea-
tures. The Chairm.an of the Art Committee was
Cornelius Eotke. and the Chairman of the Art
Jury v'as Fi-ancis IicComas, assisted by Armin
Hansen and Fred Gray. Thj.s Committee made up
of men v;ho are all known to the World of A^t,
have done their work remarkably well. Only
the highest tyoc of canvases have been accept-
ed and the hanging and arrangement are beauti-
fully done. The outstanding feature of the ex-
hibition is the appearance of several wives of
painters, who are represented v/ith canvases
without calling upon the reputation of their
v.'idely knov/n husbands. Ar.iong these are Mrs.
Armin Hansen, who is exhibiting under her maid-
en name of Frances Rives; Mrs. '^rp.nols Mc Comas
has several canvases listed as Gene Francis."
120
PAINTING-S AIvTp ETGHiras WIN ACCLAIM
San Francisco's place in Art, as determined by her
^rtists, vvr.s conraentod on by Ada Hanafin in the Wasp of De-
cember 20, 1924:
"Today, art in California has reached a pin-
nacle of achievoncnt never before approached
In the West, as regards grov;th, development,
expansion, individuality and vitality. The
sane indor.itriblo creative spirit that is win-
ning for our ai'ti3ts coveted laurels of na-
tional and, in sonu instaaocs, international
signlf-cance, is manifesting itself in our young
art stiii.ents ,.
"In reviewing the nature of the work of our
leading sculptors, painters, and etchers, there
has been no attempt, in listing them, to rank
them according to their relative merits. Nor
is the resume complete in its entirety. The
work of each artist seemingly stands in re-
lief against an open background, a creative
expression obviously revealing its own spe-
cial appeal. Armin Hansen has achieved equal
distinction as painter and etcher. His work
is characterized by its vigor and powerful re-
alis.t: "e especially delights in deoicting
the r.Ionterey fisherfolk in scenes from their
daily lives. His landscapes have all the lure
of color and design. "
Hansen's etchings, no less than his paintings, won
strong praise from art critics.
Of Armin Hansen's etchings, one of his best, "The
Sardine Barge," was awarded a gold medal by the Los Angeles
Chamber of Commerce in 1923.
A representative collection of Hansen^ s etchings
at the Vickery, Atkins and Torrey Gallery in San Francisco,
was commented upon by the Wasp of IToveraber 1, 1930:
121
"The first comprehensive collecti-^n and show-
ing of Armin Hansen's etchings, comprising both
old favorites and a group of never ones, is
now in lorogress at the Vlcxery, Atkins and Tor-
rey Crallory. The eminent California etcher
and painter, who is nationally known for the
delicate perfection of his style, is represent-
ed by a number of studies of fishermen, and
scenes Ir fishing villages and among shipping,
done in his never trend of massed shadow and
dramatic contrasts, as v;el]. as by the more del-
icate and impressionistic examples, possibly
more familiar to the public.
"'Fish Market '; 'Fish Basket'; 'Storm Driver';
'Adrift'; 'Fisher Families'; 'Fishers and Sons';
all acc-3nt the atmosphere of 'ol' debil sea,'
and many of them are terse with sharply sug-
gested action. 'I.Iontereyans, ' fisher types in
berets, and 'At Moorings,' 'In DrydocI:, ' and
'Sardine Barge,'- — misty studies of old hulks,
are among the imaginative and effective crea-
tions, which have gained the artist his stand-
ing as one of America's foremost etchers."
"The Fish Market," one of Hansen's best etchings,
received honorable mention when it was exhibited at the Vic-
toria and Albert Museum in London. This iDictnre is repro-
duced in the American Magazine of Art issue of July 1929.
Of the show given by Hansen, Arnold Mountford and
Carl Oscar Borg at the Ilsey G-alleries, Ambassador Hotel,
Los Angeles, Grace Hubbard wrote in the Wasp of September 3,
1932:
"Armin Hansen, well-known to art lovers of this
city for h: s many exhibitions here, is famed
for his dranatic inter-orotations of the sea
and its moods, the panooly of shios of fisher-
men and sai].ors salt as a stiff sea breeze —
his uncompromising masculine canvases and vig-
orous etchings caioture the keen tang of the
ocean. Dramatist a.nd poet, he builds an
122
absorbing conpositlon from a wave, a hull, a
tangle of rigging and the tough-muscled men
who raelt into the marine background. He paints
the sea as it can be painted only by those who
know it and love it — with a touch at once pow-
erful and delicate."
The same author compared the two marine artists,
Hansen and Kent, in the Wasp of February 13, 1932:
"The contrasting methods of two distinguished
artists, in representations of the sea and the
men of the sea. form an interesting comparison,
which may be r.ade at the M. K. de Young Memo-
rial I.Iuseum at the present time. A group of
sixty--s3:: .etchings by Armin Hansen, painter
and pri'.nt-maker of Monterej'', display, for the
most part, m.arine scenes and characters. At
the same time, there is also on view a collec-
tion of the original drawings by Rockwell Kent,
noted eastern artist, for block-print illustra-
tions of Herman Kelville's intriguing story
•Moby Dick. ' "
V'ith characteristic versatility, Hansen, who drew,
painted and etched marines and landscapes with equal facil-
ity, forsook hi? themes of the sea and seafaring men, and
turned his attention wltli great enthusiasm to an entirely
different scene — the desert of Arizona and New Mexico, the
wild horses of the range and the life of the cowboys and In-
dians who lived there.
His picture of cowboy life, "Rodeo," was illustra-
ted in the "Art Digest" of Ap'-'il IP', 1930, which commented
on his exhibition at the Stendahl Galleries in Los Angeles:
"Armin Hansen, native California painter, who
won fame through his pictures of ships and the
sea, has become a landlubber. Worse t}ipn that
he has 'bitten alkali. ' He has been to the
plains, and has painted s'virling canvases of
swerving co'vbcys and bucking bronchos...."
123
The dramatic quality In Hansen's works is well
brought out by Arthur Miller of the Los Angeles Tines in 1936:
"Aesthetically, technically and emotionally,
Ks.nsen Is equally absorbing. He is as dramatic
in a single brush-stroke, as he is in theme;
and his conce:>tion of beauty is as vivid, as
virile, as one of his seamen.
"Occasionally, he takes excursions from his
dominant theme ^ and his desertion of the coast
arid the fisher--foik ty^es, for the wide-open
spaces and its inhabitants, is a sweeping meta-
morpli03lG^ In his paintings of cowboys and
bucking bronch-oa, he proves to be to the cow-
boy, \'f\:^t Zuluoaga is to the Spanish bull-ring.
Remlng'uCn and Ilussel were historians of our
frontier days- Hansen goes a step further, he
not only dramatizes, but aestheticizes. An ap-
parently chaotic fury of color resolves itself
into all the picturesque ps.raphernalia of the
Rodeo.
"The very sweep of his brush-strokes is as
vividly full of motion, as the plunging move-
ment of his bronchos. His color is luscious,
juicy in texture, drainatlcally plpced, and v/ith
sensuous, swinging tones. "
The G-rafton G-allerios, San Francisco, in 1933, in-
stituted a series of exhibitions by "The Group of Eight,"
consisting of the following distinguished California artists:
Prank T.Johnson, Edgar F. Payne, Gustav Llljenstrom, Harold
Wagner, Arrain Hansen, William Ritschell, Arthur Hill Gilbert,
and William Wendt, according to Hov.'ard Talbot, of the Wasp,
December 23, 1933. He said:
"Sixteen charactei'i stic canvases, two by each
artist, are now oix th^^ walls....
"Besides the permanent exhibition, each of the
distinguished artists named will havea one-man
124
show from the tenth to the twentieth of the
successive months....
"These exhibitions will afford an opportunity
for oo.n Franciscans and visitors to the City,
to study the works of California's own paint-
ers cf the first rank...."
Etchings by Hansen were exhibited at Mills College
Art Gallery, Oakland, in December 1930 and January 1931, in
conjunction witha group of etchers comprising Roy Partridge,
Ernest Haskell and Cornelius Boettke, all of whose etchings
have received not only i^^iierican, but international recogni-
tion and critical acclaim. Tbe prints shown are part of the
permanent collection at Mills College.
Prominent among the artists exhibiting at the show
of the California Society of Etchers at the De Young Museum,
San Francisco, In November 1934, was Armln Hansen. Arllne
Kistler commented in "Prints" for Noveraber 1934:
"Armln Hansen Is unmistakably American, He is
robust, virile and unquestioning. He seems to
live at life's highest pitch, with all the
healthy vigor of a youth, that is not so much
a matter of years, as it is a consequence of
an untiring spirit. The freshness of his work,
is at once the result of his emotional capac-
ity, and his hearty interest in all that per-
tains to the sea, and the elemental struggle
it presents, in the face of Llan's modern at-
tempt to coerce riature.
"Seeing Armln Hansen in his spacious studio,
seated in a very large substantial chair, near
a table of barcnial-?iall proportions, his ea-
sel backed by a huge, ten- foot screen, it is
easier to think of him as the painter of large
canvases, than as the author of such exquisite
little prints.
125
"In 'The Large Pier,'' and other earlier prints ,
there is a definitely ^^^'histlerlan feeling in
hi& use of hoth lar{-;e areas of white, and sug-
gestive detail. Kis most recent plates, are
a d?-veiopi'iont of the two tendencies, for they
cor.blivc; -'c>\e vigor of deeply felt subjects with
delicate line. ''
AWARDS
While painting and teaching in San Francisco, and
at his home in I/Iontei-ey, Aniiin Hansen was exhibiting canvas-
es and etchings in Eastern art galleries, as well as at lo-
cal shows and winning critical acclaim v/ith the strong real-
ism of his painting, which he combined v;ith an unusual color
sense. A raenber of the San Francisco Art Association, Hansen
v.'as the leader of the modern, so-called radical group of
painters, as opposed to the conservatism of such members as
Evelyn Almond Wi throw and Theodore Wores, v;ho resigned from
his teaching at the Art Association's school, when the rad-
ical modern group gained control.
Numerous awards and medals, both for etching and
painting were av/arded Hansen, since he won his first prize
at the International Exposition in Brussels in 1910. His
canvas, "The Belated Boat," was hung at the show of the Penn-
sylvania Academy In 1914. This same canvas was exhibited
at the .Pan,a:;.a-F.ic:,.iic International Exposition in San Fran-
cisco in 1915, as v'ell a? another pioturej ''At the Breakfast
Table." For t\ese, H:.nsen was av/arded a silver medal. He
also won silver nedals for drawing and painting in 1915 from
126
the San Francisco Art Association; the purchase prize of the
Asr.ociation in 1918; and gold medals for drawing and paint-
ing in 1919. The next year, 1920, Hansen was awarded the
Hallgarten Prize of the National Academy of Design, New York,
for "A Boy with a Cod. " He won the Los Angeles Chamber of
Commerce Prize for his exhibit in the Los Angeles Museum in
1923; at the shov/ of the International Print Makers in Los
Angeles in 1924, he was awarded the William Preston Harrison
Prize of $100 for etching; in 1925 he won the gold medal of
the Painters of the West; in 1927, the Lea Prize of the
Print Club of Philadelphia; the award of the Santa Cruz Art-
ists League in 1930; honorable mention in prints, Olympic
Exchange, Los Angeles in 1932; the Ranger F^uid Purchase Prize
at the National Acpdemy of Design, New York, 1925.
FURTHiCR CRITICISM
A criticpl estimate of Arraln Hansen was given by
Geraldine Gale, in the Was"D for December 20, 1936:
"Armin Hansen's fane rests on his powerful and
original interoretations of the sea. Wliether
he paints in oil, water-color, or limns with
the' diam.ond r)Oint, Hansen's thoroughly mascu-
line point of vievj, his ability to weave a tre-
mendous drama and a fine composition, out of
the slim content of a few waves, is always ar-
rest inr:. "
Arthur liiller, art critic of the Los Angeles Times,
said of him:
"Armin Hansen is a groat American painter. The
threatening Dower, and transparent beauty of
127
old ocean is In all of his picture'^. Abaorbed,
these many years, in the sea and the life of
the fisher- folk, Hansen has grovrn the power to
recognize a fine theme at a glance, and to set
it doT/n with the maximum of judgment and the
minimum of fuss.
"Winslow Komer comes inevitably to mind, both
in the subjects, and in the directness of re-
cording with water-color, and for his saying
that 'The rare thing is to find a painter who
knows a good thing in nature when he sees It. '
Hansen displays that faculty to a marked de-
gree.
"Wliat a-^e his subjects? They are often so
sligh'-, sj entirely unliterary, that they will
scarcely bear description. When an artist has
taken root in a community like Monterey, where
life is a matter of the fishing-fleet sailing
before dawn of fishermen, their v/ives and sons,
walking barefoot down the wet sands to the
boats; of net--mending and ship-caulking, of
storm or calm seas, rain, sunshine and fog,
these elements of a life, becom.e elements of
composition, which he uses as naturally as a
musician uses notes.
"But, back of all his works, is his love and
knowledge of the sea as the controlling force
of this community life. Often he looks down
upon the swirling waters in some rock cove,
and sets down their movement and color in such
simple strokes, that one can only marvel at
the completeness of the results.
"Armin Hansen is a painter of whom California
may be proud. His major development has taken
place here, and he has so completely identi-
fied himself with the lives of the Monterey
fishermen, that another can scarcely attempt
these subjects without being accused of imita-
tion. "
128
CONCLUSION
With his vitality, and the strength and realism
displayed in his paintings and etchinps, Armin Hansen, V'/ith
his radical modern technique, is an outstanding example of
the California-horn artist, whose art developed and vras in-
fluenced by his colorful environment. He depicted the Cali-
fornia scene, from the rugged, pine-clad coastline of I.tonte-
rey, and the way of life of its fisher- fol'^ in their dramat-
ic conflict ag-i.l!iet Nature — to that of the cov.'boys of the
ranches, and the Indians and Mexicans of the burnign, arid
desert, with its fantr.stic cacti and ghost-""- ike Joshua-trees
v/ith their writhing linbs. Arnin Hancen's canvases and et-
chings have won the highest critical acclaira, when exhibited
in the art galleries of the East, as representative of the
best and most truly native in California art.
i
129
ARL:IN C. HANSEN
REPRESENTATIVE
WORKS
Acrosf. tii° Harbor
At ^Aornlnf?
Before the Wind
Belated Boat, The
Cowboy Soort
Cror.sinc-r the Banks
Dry dock
Earn House, The
Fisher Harbor
.Fish Kou&oG
Fish ivisricot, The
Fl sh er r:,a n ' s Q,uay , Belgium
FleTilsh Landscape
Karry Vlnck
Impressions
Large Pier, The
Lee Scupoers Under
Little Pior, Tlie
Low Tide
Nieuport Viiie
On the Rod's
Requiem
Returning Flshorman
Rodeo
San Franci'^co Waterfront
Sardine Ba.rp:e, The
Shower, The
Snug- Kerbor
Still-Life
Storm
Study
Town .^.n Flinders, A
Wi n t '^^ :" Q.U arte r s
White Rock Lli^ht
130
PERIvIANEWT C OLLEC TI OKS :
San Francisco Museun of Art, San Franciaco,
California
Bender Collection
-R-eturninQ; Fishermen (etching)
The Larf':e Pier (dry-point)
The Little Pier (dry-point)
Srirdrne Js.r^e (etching)
E, Walter- Collection
Th e t" a r in House (oil)
V.'intf.r Quarters (charcoal)
De Yoiing lii'.seum^ San Francisco, California
BefO'.'e thj 'A'ind (etching)
Fj.-,h-r ccaBr'S (etchins)
I: Ox-es'^ion
Los Angeles Muaeum, Los Angeles, California
National Acadeny of Design, New York City
EXHIBITIO?JS:
San Francisco Califorria
nelges'"n &a"'.lery, 1913
San Francisco Art Instituto, 1913
Panama-Pacif j,c Inttrnational Exoositinn, 1915
Belated Boat, The
Ai; the Breakfast Table
San Francisco Art As-.ociation, 1915, 1918, 1919
De Young Aauseum, 1916, 1931, 1932
Palace of Fine Arts, 19],?
Painters of the -Vest Exhibition, 1925
Vickery, Atkins and Torrey Gallery, I'^SO
Grafton Galleries, 1933
Oakland, California
Ebell Club, 1913
Hills College, Docrmbor 1930, January 1931
Del licnte, Crlifornia'
Del I;Ionte Gallery, 1918
Montarey, Cfliforria
I.ion'terey Industrial Exposition, 1922
Los Angeles, Crlifornia
Print Rocis, 1923
Los Angeles Iiuseun, 1923
International P-^int iviahors, 1924
Stcndahl Gallery, l'^30
Ilsey Gt.llei-ies, Anbassador' Hotel, 1932
Olynipic Exchange Exhibition, 1932
131
AWARD S:
Santa Cruz, Californlr.
Art LoP.g'ue, 1930
Nev' York City, Nevr York
l^fatlonal Academy of Dosign, 1920, 1925
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsvlvani;-: Academy, 1914
Belated Boat, The
Print Club, 1927
London, -'^np:lsnd
Vic -Gloria and Albert liusoum, 1929
Fish iviarket, The
Pa.ris, Franc::
Salon d(" P^intemon, 1910
Mun i c h . 3orr.ij.ny
Li\..nloh Art Acade^ny, 1^10
Br u s s .^ 1 ff ^ B (- 1 .?. 1 uo
Bruosel'^ Art Exhibition, 1910
Low Tide •
Brusf^els, 3e].gium
Internationa] Ex^iosition, 1910, Prize
San Fr; nciRco, C;-,lifornia
Panama-Pacific Intprnational Exnibitlon, 1915
Silv-r Medal
Sa.n Francisco Art Association
Pur cha c e ?r i z c , 1 91 5
G-old I'iedals for dra-n.np and pai'itino:, 1919
Silver li?dalG
Paint-rs of the West, Sold liec^al, 1925
Nov York City, Novr York
National Academy of Design
First Kallrarten Pri'-,^. , 1920
Rang'-r Fund Purchase Pj'lze, 1925
Los Anp-pler^, California
Los An.'e^.cc Charbo" of Coirmerce Prize, 1923
International Print Makrrs, "'.P. Harrison Prize
for etching ($100 ), 1924
Olympic E::chanp:c, Honorable -aention i^' Prints,
1932
Philadelphia, P T-nr v<^viv.".r.ia
Print Club, L.-,a Prize, 1927
Santa Cruz, Cr-lifornia
Santa Cruz Art Lea'ai.e, I'^SO
133
CLUBS:
ivieraber:
AsGociete, National Academy of Design, 1926
New York City, New York
So.n Francisco Art Association
Wisconsin Print Society
Societo des Boaux Arts, Brussels, Belgium
Art Association, Carmel, California
133
ARMIN C. HANSEN
BIBLIOGRAPHY
San Francisco Call, September 4, 1910
December 22, 1912~March 2, 1913
May 8, 1913
Art In California, 1916, published by Bernier
WasD, November 11, 1916
December 0, 1917 — Jam^ary 5, 1918
March G, 1920— September 9, 1922
March 17, 1923— December 20, 1924
November' 1. 1930 — February 13, 1932
Se::)t ember 3, 1932 — Decem.ber 23, 1933
December 20, 1936
Art Digest, April 15, 1930
California Arts 5; Architects, January 1932
Portrait
American Art Annual, 1933
Prints, November 1934
Los Angeles Times, 1936
Who's Who in America, Vol. 14; Page 880
History & Ideals of American Art by Eugene
Neuhaus
U
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11