California Impressionism

by William H. Gerdts Jr., Will South

In recent years, the richly colored, exuberantly painted canvases by artists such as Franz Bischoff, Alson Clark, Joseph Raphael, Guy Rose, and William Wendt have attracted an expanding circle of admirers all across the country. In addition to the work of these established West Coast masters, many less-known California Impressionists are presented here, including John Frost, Evelyn McCormick, Bruce Nelson, and others whose work has not yet been widely discovered.
In his far-ranging introductory essay, Dr. Gerdts explores the context of California Impressionism, surveying the movement's sources abroad, the most influential exhibitions in America, and the critical responses to the art and the artists. He introduces the work of an almost entirely forgotten foursome—Helena Dunlap, Detlef Sammann, Ernest Browning Smith, and Jack Gage Stark—who were the first local painters to be identified as Impressionists in Los Angeles and who contributed to an important but long-overlooked moment in the city's cultural history.
Will South supplies an enlightening chronological narrative of the California Impressionists, starting with their often-ignored roots in the Hudson River school and other American realist art. Tracing the trajectory of their work from the innovations of the late 1800s to the style's final days in the 1920s and '30s, he offers vital new information and insight about their training and careers, as well as their ideas about art, nature, and the Golden State. Dr. South also provides detailed artists' biographies and an extensive bibliography.
At a time when interest in all aspects of regional Impressionism continues to flourish, California Impressionism commands the greatest interest of all. This book will be an invaluable resource and source of pleasure for the innumerable collectors, scholars, and art lovers who find this work—with its wind-swept coasts, majestic mountains, and poppy-strewn fields—irresistibly appealing.

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

284 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1998

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is no other land so lovely, so constant, so generoud. It lies between desert and sea--God's two sanatoriums for weary flesh and weary mind... a land of artists' dreams endless with flower-flamed uplands, swinging lomas and majestic mountains.

This seemed like a pretty thorough, although not all-encompassing, volume. I'm sure Gerdts put a lot of work into it and I appreciated that he seemed passionate about the quality of California Impressionism and how it deserves to be better know. There are two reasons I'm not rating the book higher: first, the writing style is not very interesting. There is a lot of text and not much effort made to make it skimmable or front load important information, so I ended up skipping a lot because I am mostly uninterested in when a particular artist lived in which locations. Second, and probably less fair, is that this particular style does not come across well in small, flat reproductions, probably because the actual paintings are so heavily textured. I've seen many of the works in person and liked them, which is why I ordered this book in the first place; had I been leafing through it in a bookstore and unfamiliar with the pieces, I would have been unlikely to pursue the subject.

Thanks to all the owners of pieces in private collections who allowed their paintings to be included.
Recommended for those who like this style and want to find more artists to look up, or are interested in specific historical aspects like what artists were in which group where.

[Natalie B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated

[Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting read, but even more interesting and beautiful images.