[photo credit: American Legacy Fine Arts]
A century ago, California artists traveled “by foot, rail, horse, and automobile” to capture a landscape in dramatic transformation.
Now, nearly 30 rare paintings from that era invite viewers on what gallery director Elaine Adams calls “a classic California road trip.”
“Scenic Route: A Half-Century of California Discovery, 1900–1950,” opening August 15 at American Legacy Fine Arts in Pasadena, features 21 renowned artists and runs through October 11. The works document “sun-washed deserts, dramatic Pacific Coast, and majestic forests to rolling valleys, inland waterways, and iconic landmarks such as Yosemite, Mount Shasta, Palm Springs, and the Sierra Nevada.”
“It was artwork we’ve acquired, and we’re thinking that we have a language happening here from this perspective of approximately 100 years ago,” explains Adams.
The exhibition features both plein air paintings created in the open air and studio works, including pieces by William Lees Judson, a leader among early California plein air painters, and Alfred R. Mitchell, known as the “Dean of San Diego County artists.” Notable works include “Cows in Summer Landscape” by Angel De Service Espoy and “California Stormy Sky” by Theodore N. Lukits.
All pieces will be available for sale.
“Scenic Route: A Half-Century of California Discovery, 1900–1950” will run on Friday, August 15 to October 11. Tuesday through Friday (10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.) and Saturday (11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m) American Legacy Fine Arts, 949 Linda Vista Avenue, in Pasadena. For more call (626) 577-7733 or visit https://www.americanlegacyfinearts.com/exhibition/scenic-route-a-half-century-of-california-discovery-1900-1950.
