19th century AD

Magazine Antiques, Nov, 2001 by Alfred C. Harrison Jr.

Although he was famous as a painter of tropical scenery Bush also painted views of California in the luminist style. One of the most charming of these is an oval view of Mount Diablo east of San Francisco (Pl. III). It retains a classical framing tree on the right, but here it is a California live oak rather than the tropical trees in Plate VII. Subtle handling of early evening light unifies the various greens of earth and foliage and the blue-greens of their reflection in the water. The harmony of tones created by the light transforms the scene into a metaphor for the spirituality of nature.

In 1869 Bush went back to New York City, where he experienced a measure of success with his tropical scenes while occasionally choosing subjects in the Catskill Mountains of New York State and the White Mountains of New Hampshire. In 1873 he went again to Central and South America to make new studies of tropical scenery before returning to San Francisco. By October 1874 Bush had painted enough new works to hold an auction preceded by an exhibition that attracted several thousand people. [3] The critic for the San Francisco Evening Post bestowed praise on paintings like Tropical River Landscape (Pl. VI), writing: "Not only is the vegetation splendidly tinted, but the atmosphere is 'warm, soft and golden,' the sky dreamy and poetic, and the water...as perfectly represented as can well be imagined." The reviewer went on to note the artist's restraint in treating his lush subject matter: "Where an artist of inferior taste and ability would be strikingly gorgeous and therefore violate the sweet modesty of nature, [Bush] is content to give a blushing beauty to the scene." [4]

Bush spent almost his entire artistic career in California. The next painter of luminist landscapes on the West Coast, while leaving a significant legacy, lingered little more than a year. John Ross Key was born after the death of his father and raised in the District of Columbia by his grandfather Francis Scott Key (1779-1843), the author of "The Star-Spangled Banner." As a teenager John Key worked for several years at the United States Coast Survey, which sharpened his ability to paint topographically accurate studies. After the Civil War he developed into a fine landscape painter who often chose luminist strategies for his works. In August 1869 he visited California at the invitation of the financier and brigadier general Henry Morris Naglee (1815-1886), whose young wife had died earlier that year in the care of her aunt, who was John Key's mother. Naglee spent most of his time at his vineyard in San Jose, where he commissioned Key to paint views of the environs. One of the most beautiful of these is Santa Clara Valley (Pl. IX), the composition of which became the subject for a large chromolithograph of the same title published in 1873 by L. Prang and Company (1856-1897) of Boston. The painting is a view from Coyote Creek near the Naglee homestead at Eleventh and Santa Clara Streets in San Jose. As is often the case with Key's landscapes, the time of day is early evening, when subtle sunset light tints distant hillsides a soft lavender The framing tree at the left is a typical California live oak. It balances the hills in the right distance, which are surmounted by wisps of fog in elongated triangular patterns like the crowns of the oak. As in Bush's painting of Mount Diablo, a mood of harmony and repose is created that communicates a sense of divinity underlying natural appearances. The self-effacing brushwork persuades the viewer that he is looking at a real scene, unaltered by the artist's hand. In fact, the artist has skillfully coordinated his composition and palette, adding a sense of order and harmony t o the realistic transcription.