FOUR
REASONS WHY HISTORIC ART REMAINS IMPORTANT TO THE CALIFORNIA MARKET
By William A. Karges Fine Art Editorial Staff
What
is it that has always attracted people to Early California painting?
Works created during the period between 1870 and 1940 by artists such
as Granville Redmond, Guy Rose, and William Ritschel continue to
remain popular among people of all ages. With the current frenzy
surrounding modern and contemporary art, why are collectors, museums
and gallery visitors still so fascinated by this more traditional
style of painting?
1)
Traditional art is self-sustaining
 |
| Granville Redmond (1871 - 1935) "California Landscape" SOLD |
Certainly
there is ample room for all types, mediums, subjects, and talents in
the art world. The nature of art is to encourage experimentation, and
to open viewer's minds to new ways of thinking and experiencing the
world. Art is a medium that, at its best, evokes an emotion, but it
has many purposes, including breeding thoughts and ideas, and
connecting us to each other through the simple fact that the works
were created for humans by other humans.
However,
as corporate marketing agencies spend huge sums to convince visitors
of flashy art fairs, surfeit with celebrities, that it's perfectly
normal for a canvas painted blue with a white line to sell for $43.8
million dollars, one begins to suspect that the contemporary art
world is more about a “scene” than about the art itself.
Yet
the private market for historic California art remains strong without
all the fanfare and high-priced marketing of its modern, postmodern,
and abstract brethren. The reason is that collectors of these prior
genres tend to be more self-educating –
that is, historic collectors appreciate the visual aesthetic
qualities of the work, but also foster connoisseurship by seeking the
historical significance of the objects themselves. The market is
driven less by external trends and more by a conscious intellectual
endeavor to understand the contextual whole.
2)
It preserves our history
For
over one hundred years, the California Art Club has existed for the
exclusive purpose of fostering and preserving the rich tradition of
fine art in California. One of the oldest, largest, and most active
art organizations in the country, it continues to attract an
increasing number of new members, and any study of the history of the
art of the region will contain by necessity the history of the CAC
and its members, such as William Wendt (1865–1946), Edgar Payne
(1883–1947), Franz Bischoff (1864–1929)
Other
groups, such as the Traditional Fine Arts Organization, continue
to grow in popularity and membership. The TFAO, a non-profit group
“dedicated to furthering education in American Representational art
through advocacy, publication, and research,” similarly works to
preserve the history of the arts.
The CrockerArt Museum in Sacramento, established in 1885 and home to a vast
and important collection of early California paintings, recently
tripled its size and has become one of the leading art museums in
California, and the recently opened Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University, displaying a significant collection of
20th century representational art, is drawing large,
enthusiastic crowds.
The
history of art in California is quite literally the history of the
people, places, and events that have shaped the world we live in.
Without organizations and patrons dedicated to the preservation and
appreciation of this artistic legacy, our own history would be lost
to the fog of time.
 |
| Orrin White (1883 - 1969) "Southern California Landscape" Oil on canvas, 26 x 32 inches SOLD |
3)
Historical art preserves our environment
In
order to understand the reasons for this enduring love of paintings
created in the “Golden State”, a good place to look is the
California landscape itself.
California
landscape paintings, plein air works in particular, call attention to
the exceptional and unparalleled beauty of the hills, mountains,
deserts, and farmlands of California which, in turn, remind us of the
fragile nature of our unique habitat. As with John Muir, we are
inspired to become better custodians of these precious lands, and to
protect and nurture the environment.
Early paintings of Yosemite, by
artists such as Gilbert Munger and Thomas Hill, served to draw
attention to that area, and helped to spark a new era of conservation
and environmental protection for its unique and exceptional beauty.
Artists and writers were extremely important in
influencing Nineteenth Century trends in American conservation.
One
of the great museums in the state is the Irvine Museum, which is
dedicated to the preservation and display of California art of the
Impressionist Period (1890-1930). In her welcoming statement for the Irvine Museum, the institution's founder, real
estate heiress Joan Irvine Smith, notes that “Much of what
originally made California a 'Golden Land' was directly linked to the
environment, especially the land and water that nurtured and
sustained a rare quality of life. Over a hundred years ago, the
splendor of nature fascinated artists and compelled them to paint
beautiful paintings. As we view these rare and remarkable paintings,
we are returned, all too briefly, to a time long ago when the land
and its bounty were open and almost limitless.”
 |
Thomas Hill (1829 - 1908) "Three Deer Overlooking the Valley" Oil on canvas, 12 x 18 inches SOLD |
4)
The market is strong
In
spite of – and at least partially because
of –
a recent surge in turnover of contemporary art, current auction
records for important paintings from the Early California period are
remarkably strong. Today's overheated market for contemporary work
with little or no proven track record is providing astute collectors
with a perfect opportunity to acquire certain early California
paintings on the private market at somewhat more modest prices than
those seen a decade or two ago, just as Joan Irvine was able to
acquire historic paintings for the museum by circumventing the
contemporary art bubble of her own time.
Simultaneously,
important major works by the most popular artists in the genre are
commanding stronger prices than ever, proving again that the market
for the most desirable first-rate works still remains bullish. A
painting by William Wendt (1865-1946) “The Old Coast Road”, circa
1916, was sold in April 2015 for $1,565,000, setting a new public
record for the artist. The Director of Fine Arts at Bonhams in Los Angeles, Scot Levitt, commented of the sale, "This was the most exciting sale that I have had the distinction to auction in my 30 years working with the company". Shrewd collectors know that significant
paintings from this genre continue to enjoy an enduring position in
the history of art, and can comfortably count on the fact that their
importance and relevance over time has been repeatedly proven.
While
all of this may be somewhat of a simplification, it’s clear that
the appeal of historical California art is multi-faceted and often
rooted in deeply-felt emotions and fundamental human nature. The
pieces from this halcyon era inspire us to care more about, and
protect, our fragile environment.
They can make us feel peaceful,
centered and quiet, and can function as a counterpoint to the fast
pace of today's world that's crowded with glowing screens,
overflowing email inboxes, and ringing cell phones.
They can bring us
joy, pleasure, and memories of happy times spent with people we've
loved. And, most importantly, the paintings from this special era in
California history make us feel connected to the past, connected to
the land and the environment around us, connected to the artists
through time, and to each other.
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