What a treat awaits you in the expansive galleries of Sacramento's Crocker Museum. Their summer of Impressionism is in full swing with exhibits from the Bank of America Collection, the Brooklyn Museum, and the paintings and porcelains of Franz Bischoff .

Early in his painting career, Franz Bischoff established for himself a reputation as "King of the Rose Painters." These floral still lifes were magnificent, presenting roses in all their delicacy, grace, and beauty. His paintings were dazzling to the eye, almost to the point that you could smell the roses as well as see them. And, he applied his fascination with roses both on canvas and ceramics, creating dazzling vases daringly meant to bear the images of Bischoff's roses along with bouquets of the real thing.

But artistically, Bischoff did not build a creative box he could not escape. As an artist, he was willing to reinvent himself. Later in his career, after a move to California, he painted the California landscape, achieving images as beautiful and stunning as his rose paintings.

Examples of both are now at the Crocker Museum, leaving the viewer in awe of the wonder created by this wonderful Austrian immigrant.

Young Bischoff was born in Austria in 1864 and immigrated to America as a teen, living in New York, Ohio, and eventually in Deerborn, Michigan. As a young artist in Austria, he was trained in design, watercolor, and ceramic decorations. In America, he put his talents to work, finding great artistic success with his rose paintings.

The Crocker's current exhibition, Gardens and Grandeur: Porcelains and Paintings by Franz A. Bischoff runs through October 23, and is the third leg of the Crocker's Summer of Impressionism.

Also on exhibit are Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism, featuring impressionist paintings from the Brooklyn Museum through SEPTEMBER 18, and Transcending Vision: American Impressionism, 1870–1940 through September 25. Visit the Crocker's website to learn more.

and the final four are at Monterey's Museum of Art.

Gottardo Piazzoni was born in 1872 in Switzerland. His father preceded the family, preparing the way for their immigration. They built a dairy ranch in the Carmel Valley of California where Gottardo developed a passion for the area's beauty. His early inclinations toward art lead to studies at the California School of Design in San Francisco, where he studied with Arthur Mathews and Raymond D. Yelland. He furthered his studies in Paris at the

Academie Julian and the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. In 1907, he returned to San Francisco the year after the great Quake of '06, establishing his San Francisco studio and his teaching career at the California School of Fine Arts. He was very willing to add his voice to those seeking to rebuild San Francisco, becoming an enthusiast of bringing the best of the arts and architecture to the task.

The original ten murals for the San Francisco Library were done in 1932. The final four were done in 1945. In these works, he distilled nature to its most refined essence. The murals entitled Night, Dawn, The Forest, and The Mountain all convey an aura of tranquility, transcendent in the natural environment. Piazzoni was a tonalist, interpreting his subject in muted tones and misty forms, all meant to capture the atmospheric spirituality of nature.

With its close proximity to the Carmel Valley, and being located in one of the most scenic corners of California, the Monterey Museum of Art is a fitting home for these visions from California's past.

Also showing at the Monterey Museum of Art are three exhibitions, The Art of California, 1880 to the Present, California Artists and Portraiture, and Adams & Weston and the Masters of California Photography. The museum allowed photography of the painting exhibits, but not of their photography exhibits. Here are some photo images of what we saw.

Among these were some striking works by E. Charleton Fortune, Armin Hansen, Francis McComas, William Ritschel, Margaret Bruton, and Jules Tavernier.

E. Charleton Fortune 1885-1969 She didn't like her given name, Euphemia, and her friends knew her as Effie. She signed her paintings "Charleton," her grandmother's family name. She had inherited a cleft palette, a deformity she was told she would pass on to her children, and this probably figured in her decision never to marry. She was a devout Catholic and in the mid 1930's abandoned her easel to pursue ecclesiastical arts, decorating Catholic churches with paintings and mosaics.

Armin Hansen 1886 - 1957 He is quoted as saying "Every move I have made and everything that I have done has always been to

go back to the water and to the men who gave it romance. I love them all." After studies in San Francisco and Germany, he came to settle in Monterey and taught classes for the Carmel Art Institute. Today, he is considered an important figure in American Art, and is known best for his etchings and paintings of marines, coastal scenes, and the fishing industry of the Monterey Peninsula.

Francis John McComas 1875-1938 He was born an Australian, in Tasmania. He first studied art in Sydney. In 1898, he worked as a merchant seaman to get to San Francisco. He studied with Arthur Mathews at the Mark Hopkins Institute, and then in Paris at the Académie Julian. Prior to settling in Carmel, he spent time in New

In 1901, he moved westward, stopping in Arizona to paint the Grand Canyon and to spend time with the Navajo. In 1911, he settled in Carmel. From his base in Carmel, he often traveled and

truly loved trips to the South Seas. In 1918, he built a studio-home called The Castle, strikingly located aside the ocean he loved. He was widely exhibited and his paintings reside in many museums across the country, including the Art Institute of Chicago and the Smithsonian.

Margaret Bruton 1894-1983 Margaret grew up in San Francisco and showed her artistic talents early on. She pursued art studies at the Mark Hopkins Institute under Frank Van Sloun. She earned a scholarship which allowed her to head to New York and study at the Art Students League under Vincent Dumond and Robert Henri. After four years in New York, she returned to San Francisco and studied with Monterey's Armin Hansen. She moved to Monterey in 1924. In 1925 she accompanied her sisters to Paris where she studied at the Academie de la Grand Chaumiere. When she returned to California, she was given a solo exhibition at the Beaux Arts Gallery in San Francisco. In 1929, she visited New Mexico painting Indian portraits.

We regret to report that this marvelous exhibit has just closed, but if you've not yet encountered the extraordinary paintings of Mari Kloeppel, here is some of what we saw.

When just twenty-six years old, Mari Koeppel was in critical condition and blinded temporarily after being crushed by her 1,000 lb. pet Arabian horse named Cobahsaan. But after a long recovery and therapy, Mari fought her way back to health. Previously, she considered training for a career as a veterinarian, but while recovering from her accident with Cobahsaan, she had an epiphany and dedicated her life to painting animal portraits.

Cobahsaan was just one of her animal friends. The great Arabian was Mari’s close companion for almost thirty years. Today, Mari maintains her home and studio near Elkhorn Slough close to Monterey Bay surrounded by rescued dogs, cats, a variety of fowl and horses. She believes that a close relationship with animals is one of the true joys of life.

Mari’s interest in art began early on. When she was small, she would make detailed and intricate drawings. She studied at San Jose State and Sheffield Polytechnic University in England. She continued her studies in a graduate program in Germany, giving her enriched backgrounds in art criticism and scholarship.

Its hard to imagine him young, without mustache and goatee, but the old master of California Desert Painting had to

endure the rigors of self promotion. 107 Years Ago, a year and a half before the San Francisco Quake of 1906, a twenty-nine year old Maynard Dixon is not in the desert where he would prefer to be. He was already an accomplished artist of note, and had become a champion for the cause and the dignity of native

Tomorrow night the Sequoia club will bid "how-de-do" to itself and its friends, who will foregather beneath the clubs own rooftree at the St. Francis. Some mighty interesting people will be guest at this first of a series of Tuesday "at home," among whom is Gertrude Atherton, the most famous Californian of her day. The night will be doubly auspicious for Maynard Dixon will exhibit his sketches and drawings in the green room, where the general public may view them on Wednesday afternoon and ever afternoon and evening thereafter until Sunday.

The exhibit will include the sketches and paintings done recently by this clever chap, who knows the desert and its denizens as intimately as does Mary Austin, who paints in words the story of the great gray waste.

Dixon's Indians are winning recognition in the critical East, even as in his own big West, largely through the posters done by him for Sunset Magazine, showing indisputable boldness of treatment and a deep insight into the aboriginal character. In his "Blanketed Navajo," drawn for a Sunset cover some months ago, he won much attention from Eastern folk. In this drawing is writ the whole tale of the red man's wrongs -- his hopelessness and his calm resignation to his fate.

One of the vital functions of the Sequoia Club is the greeting to famous visitors -- and a guarantee that they shall not be bored goes with the invitation to be present. As a matter of fact, the club is said to be an uncomfortable place for bores., be they men or women.

The following excellent house committee is serving for this term: Mrs. Gertrude G. Norris, Mrs. Elizabeth Gerberding, Mrs. Mary Mercado Boardman, Mrs. Ednah Robinson, Miss Jessica Peixotto, Miss Mary Bell, and Mrs Hilda Hecht Gerstle.