California impressionists, a conundrum - Current and Coming - 'In and Out of California: Travels of American Impressionists' exhibit - Brief Article

Magazine Antiques, June, 2002 by Allison Eckardt Ledes

Why are California artists who painted in the impressionist style considered members of a regional school and therefore not examined within the larger context of an international movement embraced from Australia to Russia? This is one of the questions addressed in the catalogue accompanying a traveling exhibition entitled In and Out of California: Travels of American Impressionists on view at the Monterey Museum of Art in Monterey, California, from June 15 through September 1. It may then be seen at the Laguna Art Museum in Laguna Beach, California, from November 3 through March 2, 2003.

The regional approach to impressionism poses difficulties because so many California artists were drawn to the same places as other American painters. Two of the most popular destinations were Paris and New York City. Even the opinionated Henry James might have been onto something when he wrote in 1887: "It sounds like a paradox, but it is a very simple truth that when we look for 'American art' we mainly find it in Paris."

A case in point is a comparison of the near contemporary artists Childe Hassam and Guy Rose. Both studied locally (Hassam in Boston, Rose in San Francisco) before traveling to Paris, where both enrolled in the Academie Julian, even studying under some of the same teachers. Hassam and Rose exhibited at the Paris Salon; the former in 1887, the latter in 1890. Both sent their work to the New York City dealer William Macbeth, and more than once they were in a group exhibition together. Yet today in art historical circles and the marketplace Hassam is known to almost everyone while Rose is largely unknown outside of California Artists from the state traveled widely and often, and documents reveal that they exhibited all over the country during the course of their careers. Adding complexity to the issue is where to place non-California artists who visited the state to take advantage of the dramatic landscapes there.

The essays in this catalogue by Deborah Epstein Solon and Will South provide a compelling defense for taking a deeper look at the painters who spent their careers "in and out" of the Golden State, painting works that should be evaluated within the international context of impressionism. The catalogue, published by the Laguna Art Museum and distributed by Hudson Hills Press, may he obtained by telephoning 800-288-2129.