Still Life Painting in California a Continuous Transformation

CALIFORNIA ART CLUB NEWSLETTER Still Life Painting in California A Continuous Transformation by Elaine Adams till life, contrary to its name, is a educational text, Masters of Taste: Genre and Still form of artistic expression that constantly Life Painting in the Dutch Golden Age, published by Sevolves. Objects change through time, as they the Albany Institute of History and Art, “During the vary in style and purpose or even become obsolete. seventeenth century, Netherlanders bought directly Cultural tastes and interests also change including from artists’ studios, from art dealers or bookshops, what is revered and enjoyed as part of nature’s or from temporary stands set up at Kermis (street bounties. One may fairs). …even most consider still lifes as small towns could boast societal statements at least a few resident locked in time. Still life painters. In fact, some paintings often show Dutch communities had the natural world com- more artists than they bined with that of the did butchers.” manmade—flowers in Just as French terms a vase, fruit in a bowl, are often applied when food on a tray— describing facets of symbols of human Impressionism, in triumphs in domesti- homage to the nine- cating nature and con- teenth century artists taining it for everyday who developed the use and enjoyment. movement, Dutch terms Still Life painting are applied to Still was particularly popu- Lifes, in the language of lar among seventeenth the artists who popular- century Dutch artists ized the genre. The term during what is now “still life,” which can termed as their “Golden also be hyphenated as Age.” After making “still-life,” is itself peace with Spain in derived from the Dutch 1648, the Netherlands word, “stilleven,” became a highly pros- meaning “still model.” perous economy. The For the erudite, there flourishing burghers are specific terms refer- wanted to show their ring to specific types of new found wealth, but still lifes, such as Vani- rather than spending tas, which means “van- their money on high ity” and refers to fashion clothing, they John O’Shea (1876-1956) earthly pleasures; an invested in grand homes Bird of Paradise, c. 1931 ontbijt is a focus on and filled them with the Oil on composition board 48Љ ϫ 36Љ simple things, usually finest luxuries, particu- Collection of Marcel Vinh and Daniel Hansman associated with break- larly original works of Photographer: Christopher Grandel/Adamson-Duvannes fast; banketje, means art. According to the Galleries “little banquet” and California Art Club www.californiaartclub.org February–March 2004 – 3 – 2 features arrangements of lavish foods, such as lob- tion, Not-So-Still Life: A Century of California sters and exotic fruits; fruytje, means Painting and Sculpture, which accompanies an exhi- “little fruit;” and Hammetje, means “little ham” for bition of the same title that opened at the San Jose paintings that prominently feature ham subjects. A Museum of Art last November, co-author and co- typically masculine subject is tobacco with its accou- curator of the exhibition, William H. Gerdts, Ph.D., trements, which is called a tabakje, “little tobacco.” explains the artists’ incentive, “Painters often took “Pronk” means “ornately luxurious to the extent of up still life at either the beginning or the conclusion being showy or ostentatious,” thus an ornate still life of their careers – at the beginning because the sub- is called pronkstilleven. ject matter was immobile, and at the end because Later, in eighteenth century France the artist Jean the artists themselves were restricted in movement.” Chardin (1699–1769) brought the art of still life painting to an elevated height. He may have painted any academically-trained artists of everyday objects, such as cooking utensils, tea ket- Mthe late nineteenth and early twentieth cen- tles, and vegetables, but Chardin masterfully glori- turies came to California from the Midwest, East fied these simple things through exquisite modelling, Coast and Europe. Lured by the state’s sunshine rich colour, glowing light and convincing texture. and vast vistas, plein air landscape or sun-drenched An accomplished still life artist can evoke through figurative paintings became the preferred subjects his or her paintings feelings of abundance, empti- among California artists and patrons. It is fascinat- ness, beauty, lamentation, spirituality, nostalgia, the ing, however, to discover the rarely exhibited still work can be narrative or rich in symbolism or can life paintings created by many of these illustrious reflect the artist’s autobiography. Studying a still life artists including Mabel Alvarez (1891–1985), Dana painting is akin to studying oneself—a kind of Bartlett (1882–1957), Maurice Braun (1877–1941), Rorschach Test that leaves the interpretation entirely Joseph Kleitsch (1881–1931), Jules Pagès up to the viewer’s personal experiences, lifestyle and (1867–1946), John Hubbard Rich (1876–1954), tastes at that moment in time. Guy Rose (1867–1925) and Joseph Henry Sharp Although not widely studied in the past, Califor- (1859–1953). Some California artists, including nia still life painting has recently gained attention George Brandriff (1890–1936), Armin Hansen among prominent art scholars. In the new publica- (1886–1957), Joseph Raphael (1869–1950) and Donna Schuster (1883–1953), painted several personal and unusual still lifes that reveal much about them and their everyday surroundings— typically showing their studios or even their meals. There are a few California artists who are principally noted for their work in still life paintings, particularly Anne Bremer (1868–1923), Alice Chit- tenden (1859–1944), Edwin Deakin (1838–1923), the wife and husband team of Alberta B. (1855–1911) and William J. McCloskey Granville Redmond (1871–1935) (1859–1941), Nell Walker Solace, 1900 Warner (1891–1970) and Oil on canvas 10Љ ϫ 17Љ Edith White (1855–1946). The Delman Collection, San Francisco Perhaps the most cele- California Art Club www.californiaartclub.org February–March 2004 – 3 – 3 brated California still life artist is Paul de Longpré (1855–1911). Born in Lyon, France to a family of artists, de Longpré gained a formidable reputation in Europe for his delicate floral paintings on fans and china. In 1890 he moved to New York and nine years later, inspired by southern California’s sunshine and the ability to grow and paint flowers year- round, he moved to Los Angeles. In 1900 he purchased a bit of land for ten dollars on Caheunga Boulevard in Hollywood and built a grand home in a Mission-Moorish-style. In 1902 de Longpré purchased an adjoining three acres from Mrs. Daeida Wilcox Beveridge, widow to Hollywood’s original land developer, in exchange for three paintings val- ued at $3,000. De Longpré’s home and gardens, consisting of 4,000 rose bushes, became a tourist attraction, drawing approximately 25,000 visitors each year. In several of his floral paintings de Long- pré included bees, a familiar theme that can also be seen in seventeenth century Dutch still lifes, as well as the occasional live insect or small bird. De Long- pré was dubbed “Le Roi des Fleurs,” (King of flowers) and De Longpré Avenue in Hollywood was named in his memory. In the painting, Still Life with Lobster, by San Diego landscape artist Charles Fries (1854–1940), a luscious looking lobster takes centre focus, which by seventeenth century Dutch standards would label the scene a banketje, a lavish banquet. How- ever, due to the lobster’s humble surroundings, including a meagre bunch of radish, lettuce and an Paul de Longpré (1855-1911) old cooking pot, the painting may be better Rambling Roses, 1908 described as an ontbijt, a focus on simple things. Watercolour on paper 23Љ ϫ 17Љ But what may be lavish in seventeenth century Collection of Dr. and Mrs. Randal J. Williams Netherlands could be considered simple in twenti- Photograph courtesy of Spanierman Gallery, LLC, eth century San Diego—an example of reinterpreta- New York tion based on time and place. n northern California the Irish-born painted early in his career are also worth noting. In Iartist John O’Shea (1876–1956) applied his inter- his 1900 Solace, Redmond creates a tabakje scene, est in gardening to his talent for stylized painting. complete with a pipe, tobacco pouch and matches. O’Shea’s particular focus was the exotic flowers The painting is reminiscent of the masculine smok- transplanted in California, such as the bird of par- ing theme that was popularized during the mid to adise, a native of Africa. Such flora would have cer- late Victorian era. tainly been alien to the Irish landscape and no doubt Another artist who is considered a giant among sparked a sense of mystery and fantasy to O’Shea. California landscape painters is Edgar Payne Granville Redmond (1871–1935) continues to be (1883–1947). Payne is especially synonymous with revered for his paintings of poetic California land- the Sierra Nevada and its rugged grandeur. For this scapes of both northern and southern regions, as reason it is particularly interesting to discover a pair well as his glorious moonlit scenes of the Pacific of small still lifes, Sunflowers and Ranunculus—the Ocean and his vistas of seemingly endless fields of only two known still lifes to have been painted by poppies and lupines. But his rarely known still lifes Payne. Similar to how he approached painting mas- California Art Club www.californiaartclub.org February–March 2004 – 3 – 4 Charles Fries (1854-1940) Still Life with Lobster, 1905 Oil on canvas 16Љ ϫ 24Љ Collection of the San Diego Historical Society, gift of Lawrence Laughlin, 1981 Photographer: Nick Juran sive mountains, Payne handled these delicate floral subjects with his inimitable sweeping bold brush- strokes, thus making his subjects even more vibrant and exhilarating.

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