Revisiting "Painted Light: California Impressionist Painting"
Acclaimed in 1999, the "Painted Light: California Impressionist Paintings" exhibit has returned to campus with its restored treasures of plein air (open air) paintings. The exhibition and its associated educational component are shown courtesy of a grant to the University from the W. M. Keck Foundation. The exhibit will continue through April 12, according to Kathy Zimmerer, director, University Art Gallery.
The collection was born in 1919 at Gardena High School, when the principal, John Whitely, proposed that each graduating class purchase a painting for the school. By the 1950s, the school had amassed more than 90 works. In the process, students visited art galleries and studios of important artists of the era, sometimes purchasing the very canvas an artist was creating during the visit. The Class of 1956 was the last to contribute a painting to the school.
The collection of 31 California landscapes had rested in storage for three decades. It includes works by Franz Bischoff, Maurice Braun, Maynard Dixon, William Wendt and many others. Its re-introduction to the public is an opportunity to view works "representative of one of the most remarkable and distinctive schools of regional American art," according to guest curator Jean Stern, executive director, The Irvine Museum.
School children who come to see the artworks will be well prepared for the visit with special education on the sources and influences of the California Impressionists. Aided by a "Painted Light" curriculum resource guide, teachers from Torrance and Los Angeles school districts have been able to help their students understand the collection's historical context and the finer points of art criticism. After visiting the gallery, students will be guided into the spirit of the period, creating projects that relate to the vision of the Impressionists.
"We want them to feel an affinity for the paintings that are part of their California heritage," says gallery director Zimmerer.
- A public walk-through
of the exhibit lead by curator Stern, an authority on plein air painters,
will highlight exhibit activities occurring throughout the spring. The walk-through
is scheduled for March 1 at 7 p.m. in the University Art Gallery and will
focus on California Impressionism.
- The "Painted
Light" catalogue, illustrated with more than 30 color plates, is available
at the University Bookstore.
- The University
Art Gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
