A Summer Idyll: Picturesque Views of California

A SUMMER IDYLL: Picturesque Views of California is a glorious celebration of summer in the Golden State that combines works by California artists, contemporary and historic, painted over the last one hundred years.

Among the historic artists in the exhibition, the museum visitor will view an important painting by Joseph Kleitsch (1882-1931) entitled “Red and Green,” which shows the artist’s wife, Edna, and a friend strolling through the gardens of the Mission San Juan Capistrano. The painting is set in late afternoon with the golden glow of the sun casting a deep shadow in the immediate foreground. In addition, the museum will display a wonderful watercolor painting by Emil Kosa (1903-1968) entitled “Lunch in the Park,” which shows a family’s summer outing beneath the dappled shade of a grove of tall, elegant trees. There will also be works by Guy Rose (1867-1925), Donna Schuster (1883-1953), George Gardner Symons (1863-1930), Sam Hyde Harris (1889-1977) and several other historic masters.

In recognition of the thriving school of contemporary landscape painters, the museum will be showing several works by noted plein air painters working throughout the United States. “On the Edge,” by John Cosby, is a large important work that shows cliff-side homes in Shell Beach, a small seaside community on California’s central coast. A bouquet of elegant summer flowers becomes the subject of “Lavender Gladiolus and Sunflowers,” by Jim McVicker. The work shows a colorful arrangement of blooms set against a background of intricately woven oriental rugs. In addition, the visitor can enjoy paintings by such contemporary masters as Jesse Powell, Bryan Mark Taylor, Mian Situ, Steven Mirich, Rita Pacheco and West Fraser, among others.