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Musing's featured Artist
Grace Allison Griffith Spring Shower Valley of the Moon
Grace Allison Griffith
1885-1955
Spring Shower
Valley of the Moon
, 16 x 20
Bodega Bay Heritage Gallery - Musings
... musuem exhibitions, artist bios, art happenings & links
February - March 2020

An online gallery based in Bodega Bay, California
celebrating Historic California painting. Always open, by appointment.
Daniel Rohlfing
Daniel Rohlfing
Our featured article ...
Henri Edmond Cross The Rose House
Neo-Impressionist
Henri Edmond Cross

previously featured at the Musee Giverny Impressionismes
Peindre Le Bonheur
Attentive service to our clinents requires clear communication. We do not engage in e-commerce.
All our client contact is off-line, via phone, text, email or in person.
Email: Art@BodegaBayHeritageGallery.com | Voicemail and Text: 707-875-2911

Sebastopol's own Wizard of Watercolor
Grace Allison Griffith,
1885 - 1955 by Linda Sorensen & Daniel Rohlfing

Grace Allison Griffith connects us with our Sonoma County heritage. Her poetic watercolors of oaks, hills and pastoral landscape celebrated the beauty of Sonoma County over one-hundred years ago. A personal coincidence for us: her gravesite overlooks Graton. CA, and specifically the old apple-drying warehouse where Linda and other local artists have their artist studios - Atelier One.

Grace Allison Griffith
Grace Allison Griffith, 1905, age 20

Grace was a prominent artist of her time. She was invited to become a member of the Royal Academy's Watercolor Society in London, a very high honor for a visiting American artist. In Hawaii, she was dubbed by a local art critic as "the Wizard of Watercolor." In California, she exhibited widely and sold her paintings through the prestigious galleries of her day: the Claremont Hotel Art Galleries in Berkeley, Gumps in San Francisco and the Kanst Galleries in Los Angeles. She and her sister Alice had an art gallery in Petaluma for a while. Even these days, her paintings are in some demand in art auctions, although they do not do as well as the somewhat similar watercolors by Percy Gray.

Her father was pioneer fruit rancher Nathaniel Griffith, whose contribution to Sonoma County was the introduction of the Gravenstein Apple, and who is featured in the permanent exhibit at Sebastopol's museum. Nathaniel was a close friend of Santa Rosa horticulturist Luther Burbank. As a young artist, Grace painted illustrations of hybrid plants for Burbank.

1985, Santa Rosa Post Democrat columnist Gaye Lebaron reported that Grace's watercolor Burbank's Gardens and Burbank's Santa Rosa Greenhouse hung in Santa Rosa's City Hall, and others of her works graced the walls between the City Council Chambers and the City Manager's Office. At that time, prints of Grace's paintings were available at the Burbank Museum gift shop.

Grace was one of three extraordinary daughters born to Ida and Nathaniel Griffith who raised apples on Vine Hill north of Sebastopol. Grace was a painter, Alice was interested in plants and a staunch defender of her family's grove of Redwoods on Vine Hill, and youngest sister Nell was a well known published poet.

Her father brought the flavorful Gravenstein Apple to Sebastopol, and shared a passion for horticulture with his good friend, Luther Burbank. As mentioned above, Grace painted biological illustrations of hybrid plants, required for patent applications.

Nathaniel Griffith Portrait
Nathaniel Griffith Portrait
Portrait of Nathaniel A. Griffith
by Vera Del Sticker, family friend, family collection

Grace furthered her art education at Cogswell Polytechnic High School in San Francisco. In San Francisco, Grace met and learned from many of California's best known painters. After high school, she studied one-on-one with San Francisco artist and Bohemian Club member, Lorenzo Palmer Latimer.

Grace Allison Griffith with her two sisters and parents in Hawaii
Grace's sisters Alice and Nell, her father Nathaniel, mother Ida, and Grace, circa 1910.

On March 31, 1909, the San Francisco Call reported that Grace (then 23) married Charles B. Allison (24). For the ten years she was married to Charles, Grace signed her paintings as Grace Allison. Ten years later, in 1919, the family house burned down, taking with it many of Grace's early works. It is believed Mr. Allison was in some way connected to the fire, and in short order, the marriage was dissolved.

Grace Allison Griffith, Spreading Oak and Path, family collection
Grace Allison Griffith, Spreading Oak and Path, private collection

Grace Allison Griffith Diamond Head with Fishing Boats
Done by Grace in Hawaii c 1920
Grace Allison Griffith, Diamond Head with Fishing Boats, 1920,
private collection

In Hawaii in 1919 and 1920, Grace and her sister Alice established a studio in Honolulu. Grace achieved some critical success in the islands, showing Hawaiians about daily tasks in their lovely island landscape. At the time, the Hawaiian Islands were a frontier, and they became a popular destination for San Francisco artists. Hawaii was first popularized by the writings of Mark Twain. Adventuring painters soon followed, including Jules Tavernier, Theodore Wores, Hugo Anton Fisher and Grace Hudson.

In San Francisco, Grace would have heard stories of these artists' travels and adventures, stimulating imagination. Although she arrived in Honolulu decades after earlier California painters, she was early enough to see Hawaii long before the tourist deluge after World War II. Grace was in Hawaii 22 years before the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Hawaiian culture and scenery she saw had not yet been replaced by the highrise vacation paradise we see today.

After returning to Sebastopol, Grace's next adventure took her to England and Scotland where she studied, painted, exhibited and sold. She accepted an invitation to become a member of the Royal Watercolor Society, an organization associated with London's Royal Academy of Art, a very high honor for a visiting American artist.

In the 1920's and 1930's, Grace painted in Sebastopol and enjoyed life with her two younger sisters, Alice and Nell.

Her sister Alice was interested in horticulture and was an avid defender of Griffith Woods, a grove of redwoods on her father's ranch. When the bones of a mastodon were discovered there, Alice staunchly refused permission for excavation of the entire skeleton, choosing to defend the grove. The Grove still stands, and the bones remain buried.
Grace Allison Griffith with her niece, Nells Allsion
Grace with her niece, Nell's daughter.

Alice eventually married, at age 75. Her husband, was Jess Ingle, but as Gaye LeBaron wrote, Alice was "nearly 75 and he (Jess) was the same and a widower." LeBaron also reported that. even at that age, Alice wasn't very happy about being "tied down."


North of Sebastopol on Vine Hill is a stand of redwoods on the Griffith fruit ranch
that was, for a time, a popular venue for outdoor weddings. The grove was
staunchly defended by Alice Griffith afer discovery of mastodon bones underneath came with a request
to cut the trees to retrieve the bones. Because of Alice, the trees and bones remain today.

Grace's younger sister Nell may have seemed an ordinary housewife, but was way beyond ordinary as a noted and published poet. She authored five books of poetry and published individual poems in magazines such as Good Housekeeping, Better Homes and Gardens, and Reader's Digest.

Nell's World War II poem, A Blood Donor's Prayer, was reprinted worldwide and was included in Eleanor Roosevelt's syndicated column. One of her books was entitled, Our Valley of the Moon, and included an illustration from her high school classmate, Robert Ripley, of Believe It, or Not fame.

In 1939, at the age of 54, Grace married again, this time to Archibald O. Harris of Berkeley. She and Archie lived in Berkeley for 11 years. When Archie died in 1950, Grace returned to the family farm in Sebastopol. There, she lived with her sister Alice until her passing in 1955. She is buried in the Gilliam Cemetery near Graton. We visted the cemetary and have located Grace's grave and nearby, the graves of her mother Ida and her sister Alice.

From Eleonor Roosevelt's column, Nov 9, 1943

The other day, I was sent by Judge William Denman, of San Francisco, a poem which was published in the San Francisco "Call-Bulletin"

"A BLOOD DONOR'S PRAYER." by Nell Griffith Wilson, Kenwood, CA
Grant me no lesser favor, God, than this
That by my giving
Some war-spent but courageous eager son
May keep on living.
Grant that the faithful rhythm of my veins
And my heart' singing
May bring an urgent quickening, and stay
His soul's far winging.
Because I have no stalwart lad by birth
To call me mother,
I ask this small maternal share in one,
Dear to another.
Then I shall walk a quiet but exalted way
Glad in the knowing
I fed the flame—and for some unknown son
Life is still glowing."

(Mrs. Roosevelt goes on ...) The author is not a well known poetess, but perhaps we may hear more in the future of Mrs. Nell Griffith Wilson of Kenwood, Sonoma County, California. In any case, I think there is many a woman who feels, whether she has a son of her own or not on the fighting front, that she is grateful to have a share in saving other mother's sons.

The Grace Allison Griffith paintings pictured below are available for sale.
Click on images of each painting for size, framing and price information.
Grace Allison Griffith, Spring Shower, Valley of the Moon, 16 x 20 Watercolor
Grace Allison Griffith, Spring Shower, Valley of the Moon, 16 x 20
Watercolor on paper
Grace Allison Griffith, Early Spring, 16 x 20 Oil on canvasGrace Allison Griffith, Early Spring, 16 x 20
Oil on canvas
Grace Allison Griffith, "Sheep, Hills and Eucalyptus," 13 1/2 x 16 1/2 Watercolor on paper
Grace Allison Griffith, "Sheep, Hills and Eucalyptus," 13 1/2 x 16 1/2
Watercolor on paper
Grace Allison Griffith, Mossy Oak and Pasture (triptych) center panel 18 1/2 x 15 1/2 left and right panels 15 1/2 x 8 Overall measurement with feet 21.5 x 38 Watercolor on paper
Grace Allison Griffith, Mossy Oak and Pasture (triptych)
center panel 18 1/2 x 15 1/2
left and right panels 15 1/2 x 8
Overall measurement with feet 21.5 x 38
Watercolor on paper
Grace Allison Griffith, "Sheep Grazing Sonoma" 1924, 13 1/2 x 16 1/2 Watercolor on paper,Grace Allison Griffith, "Sheep Grazing Sonoma" 1924, 13 1/2 x 16 1/2
Watercolor on paper
Grace Allison Griffith, Woodland Clearing, , 9 3/4 x 12 1/2 Watercolor on paper
Grace Allison Griffith, Woodland Path, , 9 3/4 x 12 1/2
Watercolor on paper
Grace Allison Griffith, Mossy Oaks and Poppies, 13 1/4 x 161/2 Watercolor on paperGrace Allison Griffith, Mossy Oaks and Poppies, 13 1/4 x 161/2
Watercolor on paper
Grace Allison Griffith, Dune Path, 7 1/2 x 9 1/2 Oil on board
Grace Allison Griffith, Dune Path,
7 1/2 x 9 1/2
Oil on board
Grace Allison Griffith, Poplars, Path, and Fence, 8 7/8 x 6 7/8 Watercolor on paper
Grace Allison Griffith, Poplars, Path, and Fence, 8 7/8 x 6 7/8
Watercolor on paper
Grace Allison Griffith, Landscape at Twilight, February, 1939, 11 x 13 Watercolor on paper
Grace Allison Griffith, Landscape at Twilight, February, 1939, 11 x 13
Watercolor on paper

Grace Allison Griffith, California Oak and Sheep, 1925, 15 3/4 x 19 3/4 Watercolor on paper
Grace Allison Griffith, California Oak and Sheep, 1925, 15 3/4 x 19 3/4
Watercolor on paper

Grace Allison Griffith, Pasture and Eucalyptus, 9 x 10 1/2 Watercolor on paper
Grace Allison Griffith, Pasture and Eucalyptus, 9 x 10 1/2
Watercolor on paper
Grace Allison Griffith, Oak and Stream, 1929, 12 x 14 Watercolor on paper
Grace Allison Griffith, Oak and Stream, 1929, 12 x 14
Watercolor on paper

Grace Allison Griffith, Mossy Oak and Spring, 1919, 12 x 14 Watercolor on paper
Grace Allison Griffith, Mossy Oak and Spring, 1919, 12 x 14
Watercolor on paper

Grace Allison Griffith Show 2020
Grace Allison Griffith on our website | Back to the Top

Neo-Impressionist Henri Edmond Cross
previously featured at the Musee Giverny Impressionismes, Peindre Le Bonheur
by Daniel Rohlfing
Henri Edmond Cross Exhibition Title Placard
"Henry Edmond Cross Painting Happiness"
Entrance for the Musee de Impressionnismes Giverny
Logo, Musee des impressionnismes Giverny

After a delightful visit to Claude Monet's home and gardens in Giverny in 2018, Linda and I enjoyed a lunch at the French restaurant Le Nympheas across the street. With time yet to kill before our train back to Paris, we strolled down Rue Claude Monet to the Musee de Impressionismes. There we discovered an amazing exhibition, "Henri-Edmond Cross: Peindre Le Bonheur."

Henri Edmond Cross, Portrait of Dr. Soins, 1883 Musee de la Chartreuse, Douai, France
Henri Edmond Cross, Portrait of Dr. Soins, 1883
Musee de la Chartreuse, Douai, France
Henri Edmond Cross, Portrait of Mme. Delacroix, Mother of the Artist 1880-85 Musee de la Chartreuse, Douai, France
Henri Edmond Cross, Portrait of Mme. Delacroix, Mother of the Artist 1880-85
Musee de la Chartreuse, Douai, France
Henri Edmond Cross, Convalescent, Self Portrait, 1882-85 Musee de la Chartreuse, Douai, France
Henri Edmond Cross, Convalescent, Self Portrait, 1882-85
Musee de la Chartreuse, Douai, France

Henri Edmond Cross was born in Douai in Northern France in 1856. His talent was first recognized by Dr. Auguste Soins (portrait above left), a cousin of his mother. At 19, he was an art student in Paris. His early work, portraits and still lifes, were done in the dark colors of Realism. To distinguish himself in the art world, he changed his name from Henri Delecroix to Henri Cross, so as not to be confused with Romantic painter Eugene Delacroix.

Henri Edmond Cross, Laundresses in Provence, 1885-89 Musee des Arts Decoratifs, don de Paul Signac at Ker Roussel, Paris, France
Henri Edmond Cross, Laundresses in Provence, 1885-89
Musee des Arts Decoratifs, don de Paul Signac at Ker Roussel, Paris, France

Because the 2018 exhibition was in Giverny, just down the street from Monet's home and gardens, Linda and I could have inferred that Henri Edmond Cross was a neighbor and good friend of Claude Monet. Such is not the case. Cross met Claude Monet just once in Paris in 1884. At the time, Monet was 44 and Cross was 28. Although the meeting was brief, Cross was influenced by Monet and changed his painting style.

Having seen this exhibition, I disccovered that I really like Cross. He was an open minded artist, willing to let go of what he had known and done before to explore new possibilities. After meeting Monet, he willingly abandoned the dark colors of realism. Monet opened his eyes and mind, causing Cross to explore the brighter colors of Impressionism.

And Cross didn't stop there. He continued to change and grow artistically. He was friends with a group of Neo Impressionists, and in time, Cross began exploring Pointillism. After a while, he changing his style again, choosing to use colorful elongated dash strokes with bare canvas showing. This style influenced Andre Derrain and Henri Matisse who developed Fauvism, the use of strong non-natural color over the colors which would have been retained in Impressionism.

Henri Edmond Cross, Monaco, 1884 Musee de la Chartreuse, Douai, France
Henri Edmond Cross, Monaco, 1884
Musee de la Chartreuse, Douai, France
Henri Edmond Cross, Portrait of a Young Boy, 1885-89 Private Colletion
Henri Edmond Cross, Portrait of a Young Boy, 1885-89
Private Collection
Henri Edmond Cross, Landscape around Eze, France, 1887 Collection of Ronald Feltkamp
Henri Edmond Cross, Landscape around Eze, France, 1887
Collection of Ronald Feltkamp
Henri Edmond Cross, Women Tying the Vines, 1890 Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain
Henri Edmond Cross, Women Tying the Vines, 1890
Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid, Spain
Henri Edmond Cross, Village on the Mediterranean, Eze, France, 1887 Helene Bailly Gallery, Paris, France
Henri Edmond Cross, Village on the Mediterranean, Eze, France, 1887
Helene Bailly Gallery, Paris, France
Henri Edmond Cross, Portrait of Gaston Desfontaines, 1887 Private Collection
Henri Edmond Cross, Portrait of Gaston Desfontaines, 1887
Private Collection

1884 was an active year for Cross. After meeting Monet, he along with his Neo-Impressionist friends including Georges Seurrat helped found the Societe des Artistes Independents. In time, Cross adopted a Pointillist style.

Henri Edmond Cross, Madame Hector France, 1891 Musee d'Orsay, Paris, France
Henri Edmond Cross, Madame Hector France, 1891
Musee d'Orsay, Paris, France
Henri Edmond Cross, Madame Cross on the Divan, 1889-90 Private Collection
Henri Edmond Cross, Madame Cross on the Divan, 1889-90
Private Collection
Henri Edmond Cross, Vignasse Beach, 1891-92 Musee d'art Moderne Andre Malraux, Le Havre, France
Henri Edmond Cross, Vignasse Beach, 1891-92
Musee d'art Moderne Andre Malraux, Le Havre, France

Pointillism used dots of color to create a range of tones within their paintings. The human eye, when seeing these dots in close proximity to one another, blends the colors of the dots into fields of color. Pointillism was a brief moment in the family tree of painting, but an important one, as artists took the time to study and explore the physics of color perception. At the time, these artists believed they could use this academic form of painting in creating more perfect images.

Henri Edmond Cross, Antibois Cove, 1891-92 National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Henri Edmond Cross, Antibois Cove, 1891-92
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
 Henri Edmond Cross, Baigne-Cul Beach, 1891-92 The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Henri Edmond Cross, Baigne-Cul Beach, 1891-92
The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
Henri Edmond Cross, Bull Race, 1891-92 Private Collection
Henri Edmond Cross, Bull Race, 1891-92
Private Collection
Henri Edmond Cross, Evening on the Farm, 1893 Musee des Beaux-Arts, Nancy, France
Henri Edmond Cross, Evening on the Farm, 1893
Musee des Beaux-Arts, Nancy, France
Henri Edmond Cross, The Swan, 1893 de la Gallerie de la Presidence, Belgium
Henri Edmond Cross, The Swan, 1893
de la Gallerie de la Presidence, Belgium
Henri Edmond Cross, The Hair, 1892 Musee d'Orsay, Paris
Henri Edmond Cross, The Hair, 1892
Musee d'Orsay, Paris
Henri Edmond Cross, Morning on the Farm, 1893 Musee des Beaux-Arts, Nancy, France
Henri Edmond Cross, Morning on the Farm, 1893
Musee des Beaux-Arts, Nancy, France
Henri Edmond Cross, Goats, 1895 Association Friends of the patit palais, Geneva, Switzerland
Henri Edmond Cross, Goats, 1895
Association Friends of the Petit Palais, Geneva, Switzerland

In 1883, Cross began wintering in the South of France. While on a trip with his family to the Ales-Maritimes in the South of France, bordering Italy and the Mediterranean, he met Paul Signac who became a close friend and influence. In 1884, Cross co-founded the Societe des Artistes Independents. Maybe with Monet's advice, and like the Impressionists before them, the members of the Societe des Artistes Independents were dissatisfied with the practices of the official Salon and chose instead to offer their works in un-juried exhibitions without prizes.

In 1891, Henri Edmond Cross adopted a Neo-Impressionist style. He moved to the south of France full time, settling in Saint-Clair where he lived the rest of his life.

He visited Paris once a year for the annual Independents exhibitions. His friend Paul Signac lived nearby in Saint-Tropez. Frequent gatherings in Cross's garden were attended by Henri Matisse, Andre Derain and Albert Marquet.


Henri Edmond Cross, Saint Clare Beach, 1896
Private Collection
Henri Edmond Cross, Pines on the Beach, 1896 New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Henri Edmond Cross, Pines on the Beach, 1896
New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Henri Edmond Cross, Quai de Passy, 1899 Private Collection
Henri Edmond Cross, Quai de Passy, 1899
Private Collection
Henri Edmond Cross, Provincial Landscape, 1891 Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cologne, Germany
Henri Edmond Cross, Provincial Landscape, 1891
Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cologne, Germany
Henri Edmond Cross, Nocturne, 1896 Association Friends of the patit palais, Geneva, Switzerland
Henri Edmond Cross, Nocturne, 1896
Association Friends of the Petit Palais, Geneva, Switzerland
Henri Edmond Cross, The Washerwoman, 1895 Private Collection
Henri Edmond Cross, The Washerwoman, 1895
Private Collection
Henri Edmond Cross, Study for An Excursion, 1894 Association Friends of the patit palais, Geneva, Switzerland
Henri Edmond Cross, Study for An Excursion, 1894
Association Friends of the Petit Palais, Geneva, Switzerland
Henri Edmond Cross, Afternoon in the Garden, 1904 Stadel Museum, Frankfurt, Germany
Henri Edmond Cross, Afternoon in the Garden, 1904
Stadel Museum, Frankfurt, Germany

Cross's friendship with the Neo-Impressionists consisted of more than sharing a painting technique. They also shared a political philosophy, Anarchism. In France, it was a political belief that a utopian society could be achieved. Collectively, the artists who believed in anarchist principles all hoped for a utopian society. They sought to create scenes illustrating a utopian world.

Even after becoming a Neo-Impressionist, Cross retained his Impressionistic habit of capturing his first impression of a subject. Because creating Pointillist paintings was intensive and time consuming, Cross captured his quick artistic impressions by painting watercolors or colored pencil sketches. He wrote in one of his sketchbooks, "Oh! What I saw in a split second while riding my bike tonight! I just had to jot down these fleeting things ... a rapid notation in watercolor and pencil: an informal daubing of contrasting colors, tones, and hues, all packed with information to make a lovely watercolor the next day in the quiet leisure of my studio."

Henri Edmond Cross, Winter Morning, Toulon, France, 1906-07 Private Collection
Henri Edmond Cross, Winter Morning, Toulon, France, 1906-07
Private Collection
Henri Edmond Cross, The Rose House, 1901-05 Musee d'Ixelles, don Madeleine Maus, Ixelles, Belgium
Henri Edmond Cross, The Rose House, 1901-05
Musee d'Ixelles, don Madeleine Maus, Ixelles, Belgium

In time, Cross's artistic style evolved further, exchanging exacting dots of color for broad blocky brushstrokes of color with bare canvas between the strokes, resulting in painted mosaics. Pointillism used spots of color to blend colors harmoniously, but now Cross and a second-generation of Neo-Impressionists were more interested in creating harmonies of pure color. His blocky areas of color were instrumental in forming the principles of Fauvism, which emphasized strong color over representational or realistic values.

Henri Edmond Cross, Le Cap Layet, 1904 Musee de Grenoble, France
Henri Edmond Cross, Le Cap Layet, 1904
Musee de Grenoble, France
Henri Edmond Cross, The San Trovaso Bridge, Venice, 1903-05 Kroller-Muller Museum, Otterlo, Netherlands
Henri Edmond Cross, The San Trovaso Bridge, Venice, 1903-05
Kroller-Muller Museum, Otterlo, Netherlands
Henri Edmond Cross, Under the Oaks, 1908 The Hepama Collection
Henri Edmond Cross, Under the Oaks, 1908
The Hepama Collection
Henri Edmond Cross, Under the Oak Leaves, 1906-07 The Couturat Collection
Henri Edmond Cross, Under the Oak Leaves, 1906-07
The Couturat Collection

Henri Matisse and others were influenced by Cross's work. His ideas helped form the principles of Fauvism, paintings characterized by seemingly wild brush work with strident colors, while the subjects of the paintings were simplified and abstracted.

Henri Edmond Cross, Une Pinede (A Pine), 1906 Private Collection
Henri Edmond Cross, Une Pinede (A Pine), 1906
Private Collection
Henri Edmond Cross, After Bathing in Saint Ropez, 1907-08 Association Friends of the patit palais, Geneva, Switzerland
Henri Edmond Cross, After Bathing in Saint Ropez, 1907-08
Association Friends of the Petit Palais, Geneva, Switzerland

Fauvism borrowed from Van Gogh, Seurat, Paul Signac, Paul Cezanne and Paul Gauguin who used areas of saturated color. Some Fauvist painters such as Henri Matisse were impacted by new artistic ideas from Africa. At this time, Matisse and his friend from Spain, Pablo Picasso, visited an exhibition of African masks, giving rise to cubism.

Henri Edmond Cross, Study for the Scarabee, 1906 Private Collection
Henri Edmond Cross, Study for the Scarabee, 1906
Private Collection
Henri Edmond Cross, Nude Study, 1906-08 Bibliotheque Royale de Belgigue, Brussels, Belgium
Henri Edmond Cross, Nude Study, 1906-08
Bibliotheque Royale de Belgigue, Brussels, Belgium
Henri Edmond Cross, Two Nudes under the Cork Oaks, 1906-07 The Couturat Collection
Henri Edmond Cross, Two Nudes under the Cork Oaks, 1906-07
The Couturat Collection
Henri Edmond Cross, Sleeping Nude in a Clearning, 1907 Musee de Grenoble, Grenoble, France
Henri Edmond Cross, Sleeping Nude in a Clearing, 1907
Musee de Grenoble, Grenoble, France
Henri Edmond Cross Wildlife
Henri Edmond Cross, Wildlife, 1905-06
Private Collection

Cross suffered from ill health. In 1891, he moved to Saint-Clair full time due to his rheumatism. Because of his arthritis, his productivity suffered.

Although I found no source for this, I believe Cross's arthritis caused him to accommodate the pain by changing his style. Pointillism required much planning, time and patience to produce the desired color effects. Because standing too long in front of his easel caused him pain, I propose he used dashes of color, leaving portions of exposed canvas as a kind of Pointillist short hand. It would have shortened the length of his painting sessions, and allow him to ease his pain by changing positions.

In his last years, Cross's creative input increased, as if driven by an sense of urgency. In 1909, he was treated in a Paris hospital for cancer. In January of 1910, he returned home. His condition continued to decline, and he died on May 16th, 1910, four days before his 54th birthday.

Henri Edmond Cross is not widely known today. He died young and many of his paintings no longer exist. Those which do reside in widespread private collections. That said, his remaining oeuvre, as seen in this exhibition, gives testament to his artistic influence on those who came after him.


Henri-Edmond Cross at the Museum of Impressionism in Giverny
The exhibition follows the chronological order of the painter's creations, from his first paintings and academic portraits
to his explosion of pure color in pointillist works of maturity. Seen chronologically, one can appreciate Cross's artistic evolution over years of painting.
Giverny Museum of Impressionisms, Henri Edmond Cross Exhibition, 2018 | Back to top

  • Gallery Notes ...
  • We've changed the format of our newsletter. Previously, it has been Bodega Bay Heritage Gallery Monthly. Henceforth, it will be called Bodega Bay Heritage Gallery Musings. We are freeing ourselves of a monthly deadline, but will still dedicate our time and talent, keeping our readers informed of art and art happenings.
  • Our Grace Allison Griffith paintings are now available for view by appointment at our Gallery Showroom in Graton through May 31.
  • Art @ the Source will be June 6 & 7 and June 13 and 14. Linda's studio and other artists studios at Atelier One in Graton will be open. Get out and support Sonoma County's artists.
Pop Up Graton Art Show

Graton Artists’ Pop Up Show
Join us as 18 local Graton artists present their work
for this one-time show hosted by
artist Suzanne Jacquot at 4404 Ross Rd., Graton.
Reception: Friday, March 20, 6-8pm
Saturday and Sunday , March 21-22, 11am to 5pm
For further information call 707-953-3373

Graton Pop Up Gallery at Suzanne Jacquot's Studio:

What does an artist do when she gets a big new studio? She invites her many Graton artist colleagues to join her for a weekend pop up gallery filled with images, music, poetry, and refreshment.

Abstract artist Suzanne Jacquot hosts Graton Pop Up Gallery, featuring 18 artists, beginning on Friday March 20th with an evening reception.

Graton is also the location of a former apple processing plant, located in the 100-year old Hallberg Building. Today, Atelier One is home to some of Sonoma County's best known artists.

The offerings at the Graton Pop Up Gallery range from hand-built and thrown clay pieces, abstract paintings, landscapes, encaustic and other mixed media work, pastels paintings, botanicals created with colored pencil, photography, and narrative work.

Participating Artists include Lisa Beerntsen, Robert Breyer, Cindy Cleary, Nancy Dempster, Marylu Downing, Robin Eschner, Suzanne Jacquot, Britta Kathmeyer, Gina Kuta, Maureen Lomasney, Elizabeth Peyton, Robert Poplack, Susan Proehl, Claude Smith, Linda Sorensen, Tony Speirs, Sue Stover and Becky Wells. Call Suzanne for more info 707-953-3373

Suzanne Jacquot Art
Suzanne Jacquat, http://www.suzannejacquot.com
Linda Sorensen with Kevin Brown at Corricks
Linda Sorensen with Keven Brown at Corrick's, Downtown Santa Rosa.
Linda Sorensen Riversong Postcard
Riversong

36 x 24

Linda Sorensen's paintings can currently be seen at Corrick's Art Trails Gallery on 4th Street in downtown Santa Rosa, and by appointment (or by chance) at her Atelier One artist studio in Graton, CA.

Her artist website shows available paintings grouped by subject. lindasorensenpaintings.com

Her direct email is lindasorensen@earthlink.net, or contact her via our gallery art@bodegabayheritagegallery.com, 707-875-2911.

Linda's studio also hosts exhibits from the collection of Bodega Bay Heritage Gallery including at present Joshua Meadorr 1911-1965, Alexander Nepote, and Grace Allison Griffith 1885-1955 (article above).

Linda is a participating artist in March's Pop-Up in Graton (see above), June's Art At The Source open studios, and October's Art Trails open studios.


Museum shows in your future ...
Granville Redmond Sand Dunes

Now Showing ... in Sacramento
Granville Redmond: The Eloquent Palette, Sacramento's Crocker Art Museum
Opening Jan 26, through May 17, 2020

Granville Redmond was one of California's premier impressionists of the early 20th century. As a child, Redmond contracted scarlet fever leaving him deaf for the rest of his life. He attended the Deaf School near U.C. Berkeley. After moving to southern California, be became a close friend of silent movie star, Charlie Chaplain, even appearing in several of Chapin's films. Chaplain, who collected many of Redmond's paintings and promoted his work to friends once said of Redmond, "There's such a wonderful joyousness about them all. Look at the gladness in that sky, the riot of color in those flowers. Sometimes I think that the silence in which he lives has developed in him some sense, some great capacity for happiness in which we others are lacking." The exhibition features 75 Redmond paintings in oil and 10 in other media.

Hollywood Bowl Milford Zornes Now showing ... in Orange, CA
Los Angeles Area Scene Paintings from the Hilbert Collection,
A Fine Romance: Images of Love in Classic American Illistration

Now through - April 18, 2020

Hilbert Museum
Hilbert Museum of California Art at Chapman University, 167 N. Atchison Street, Orange, CA 92866
Located across the street from the Orange Metrolink Train Station
Opening Soon ... in Novato, CA
Elmer Bischoff:
A Survey of Paintings and Drawings

Opens February 29 through April 19
Opening Art Talk and Reception
Feb 29, 2020, 4 pm

Marin Museum of Contemporary Art
500 Palm Drive
Novato, CA 94949
info@MarinMOCA.org / 415-506-0137

What's showing in Bodega Bay?
Bodega Bay Heritage Gallery Sign Bodega Bay Heritage Gallery
by appointment in Graton or Bodega Bay
http://www.BodegaBayHeritageGallery.com | Call or Text 707-875-2911
email: Art@BodegaBayHeritageGallery.com

Joshua Meador Composed by the Sea
"Composed by Ocean"
Joshua Meador
Ren Brown
Ren Brown
The Ren Brown Collection
1781 Coast Highway One, Bodega Bay, 94923
707-875-2922 |  rbc4art@renbrown.com
http://www.renbrown.com | Back to the Top
Reb Brown Sign Thumbnail
Bodega Bay's Jean Warren Watercolors
Bodega Bay resident Jean Warren says her paintings are reflections of the places she has lived and traveled.
Jean is a signature member of the National Watercolor Society,
California Watercolor Association and full member of Society of Layerists in Multi-Media.
Visit Jean's site and view examples at the Healdsburg Center for the Arts

http://www.JeanWarren.com

Jean Warren Watercolor

What's showing nearby?
in Sonoma, Napa & Marin Counties
Sebastopol Center for the Arts IN SEBASTOPOL, Sebastopol Center for the Arts
home of Sonoma County's Art @ the Source and Art Trails
282 S. High Street, Sebastopol, CA 95472  707.829.4797
Hours: Tue - Fri 10am - 4pm, Sat & Sun 1 - 4pm
Corricks Kevin Brown
Corrick's Keven Brown
IN SANTA ROSA
Corrick's Art Trails Gallery | http://www.corricks.com/arttrailsgallery
637 Fourth Street, Santa Rosa, CA 95401 | Contact:: http://www.corricks.com/contact-us

Corrick's has been a Santa Rosa Treasure since 1915,
a downtown stationery store serving the community's "cultural hub."
Corrick's has long supported local artists with its impressive "ART TRAILS GALLERY,"
including paintings by Linda Sorensen.
Corricks offers a number of originals by famed Santa Rosa artist, Maurice Lapp ... (see our August 2017 article)

located on Fourth Street, steps away from Santa Rosa's revitalized town square
and Fourth Street's Russian River Brewery
Corricks
BBHPhoto Dennis Calabi
Dennis Calabi
IN SANTA ROSA Calabi Gallery | http://www.calabigallery.com

We are located at 456 Tenth Street in Santa Rosa.
Contact us with any questions at (707) 781-7070 or info@calabigallery.com
456 Tenth Street, Santa Rosa, CA 95401 | email: info@calabigallery.com | 707-781-7070
Famed master conservator Dennis Calabi brings his rare knowledge and experience
to present a tasteful and eclectic array of primarily 20th century artwork.

http://www.calabigallery.com | Back to the Top
Easton Crustacean Dancing Dream 144
Easton, Crustacean Dancing Dream, American Alabaster
Annex Galleries Santa Rosa IN Santa Rosa The Annex Galleries
specializing in 19th, 20th, and 21st century American and European fine prints
The Annex Galleries is a member of the International Fine Print Dealers Association (IFPDA).
http://www.AnnexGalleries.com | Back to the Top
Rik Olson

IN GRATON Graton Gallery
home of many of Sonoma County's best artists
http://www.gratongallery.com
Sally Baker, Marylu Downing, Tim Hayworth, Bruce K. Hopkins,
Rik Olson, Susan Proehl, Sandra Rubin, Mylette Welch
Graton Gallery | (707) 829-8912  | artshow@gratongallery.com
9048 Graton Road, Graton CA 95444 | Open Wednesday ~ Saturday 10:30 to 6, Sunday 10:30 to 4

Christopher Queen Gallery IN DUNCANS MILLS Christopher Queen Galleries
3 miles east of Hwy 1 on Hwy 116 on the Russian River
http://www.christopherqueengallery.com |707-865-1318| Back to the Top
Paul Mahder Gallery Thumbnail IN Healdsburg Paul Mahder Gallery
http://www.paulmahdergallery.com

 (707) 473-9150 | Info@paulmahdergallery.com
222 Mill Healdsburg Avenue, Healdsburg, CA 95448 | Open Weds - Mon, 10-6, Sundays, 10-5
Hammarfriar Gallery Thumb IN Healdsburg Hammerfriar Gallery
http://www.hammerfriar.com

 (707) 473-9600
132 Mill Street, Healdsburg, CA 95448 | Open Tues - Fri 10 to 6, Sat 10 - 5, Sun 12 - 4


john Anderson
Petaluma Arts Council Art Center

IN PETALUMA Petaluma Arts Center
"... to celebrate local artists and their contributions and involve the whole community"

Petaluma Center for the Arts

Links to current museum exhibits relevant to Early California Art
The Greater Bay Area
The Walt Disney Family Museum
This museum tells Walt's story from the early days.
(on the Parade Grounds) 104 Montgomery Street,
The Presidio of San Francisco, CA 94129

-- view location on Google Maps
--
Disney Museum Exterior Thumbnail San Francisco
de Young Museum
Permanent Collection
De Young Museum Thumbnail
San Francisco
California Historical Society


California Historical Society Thumbnail San Francisco
Legion of Honor

James Tissot: Fashion and Faith
through Feb 9
-Permanent European and Impressionist Paintings
San Francisco Legion of Honor Museum
San Francisco
Contemporary Jewish Museum

San Francisco's Contemporary Jewish Museum Thumbnail Oakland
Oakland Museum of California

-- ongoing Gallery of California Art
-showcasing over 800 works
from the OMCA's collection

Oakland Museum Thumbnail

San Francisco
SFMOMA

Wayne Thiebaud: Paintings and Drawings
through March 10, 2019
http://www.sfmoma.org

SF Museum of Modern Art

Santa Rosa
The Museums of Sonoma County

Sonoma County Museum Thumbnail
Santa Rosa
Charles M. Schultz Museum

Charles M Schultz Museum Santa Rosa

Moraga
St Mary's College Museum of Art

Hearst Art Gallery

Hearst Art Gallery Thumbnail
Sonoma
Mission San Francisco de Solano Museum

featuring the famed watercolor paintings
of the California Missions
by Christian Jorgensen
Mission San Francisco de Solano in Sonoma CA Sonoma
Sonoma Valley Museum of Art

551 Broadway, Sonoma CA
(707) 939-7862
Sonoma Museum of Art Exterior Thumb
Ukiah
Grace Hudson Museum

http://www.gracehudsonmuseum.org
Grace Hudson Museum

Bolinas
Bolinas Museum

featuring their permanent collection,
including Ludmilla and Thadeus Welch,
Arthur William Best, Jack Wisby,
Russell Chatham, Alfred Farnsworth
.

Elizabeth Holland McDaniel Bolinas Embarcadero thumbnail
Walnut Creek
The Bedford Gallery, Lesher
Center for the Arts
Lesher Ctr for the Arts Walnut Creek CA San Jose
San Jose Museum of Art

approximately 2,000 20th & 21st
century artworks including paintings, sculpture,
new media, photography, drawings, prints, and artist books.
San Jose Museum of Art Thumbnail
Monterey
Monterey Museum of Art

Ongoing exhibitions ...
Museums Permanent Collection
including William Ritschel, Armin Hansen
and E. Charlton Fortune

http://www.montereyart.org
Monterey Museum of Art Palo Alto
Cantor Art Center at Stanford University
Cantor Art Center at Stanford University

Monterey
Salvador Dali Museum

Salvador Dali Museum Monterey Sacramento
Crocker Art Museum
NEW TWO-YEAR LONG EXHIBIT
COMING ... Jan 26 - May 17
Granville Redmond, The Eloquent Palette

& their marvelous Permanent Collection
http://www.crockerartmuseum.org
Sacramento
Capitol Museum

Governor's Portrait Gallery
Permanent Exhibits

(including one of our galllery's favorite artists,
Robert Rishell's portrait of Gov. Ronald Reagan
Capitol Museum Sacramento Thumbnail Stockton's Treasure!
The Haggin Museum

-Largest exhibition of Albert Beirstadt paintings anywhere,
plus the works of Joseph Christian Leyendecker,
Norman Rockwell's mentor.
see our Newsletter article, April 2011
Haggin Museum Stockton
Southern California (and Arizona)
Los Angeles
Los Angeles Museum of Art

Art of the Americas, Level 3:
Artworks of paintings and sculptures
from the colonial period to World War II—
a survey of of art and culture
& "Levitated Mass"
Los Angeles County Museum of Art Irvine (now part of UC-Irvine)
The Irvine Museum
El Camino del Oro, Sept 14 - Jan 11
Paintings of the California Missions era
by many of California's noted artists

Irvine Museum Thumbnail
Santa Barbara
The Santa Barbara Museum of Art
Santa Barbara Museum of Art Thumbnail Orange
LA Area Scene Paintings from the Hilbert Collection,
A Fine Romance: Images of Love
in Classic American Illistration

through - April 18, 2020
Hilbert Museum, Chapman University

Hilbert Museum Chapman University Orange CA
Pasaden
Norton Simon Museum
-an Impressive Permanent collection,
European impressionist and post impressionist paintings
See our newsletter from March 2014
Norton Simon Museum Pasadena San Marino (near Pasadena)
The Huntington Library

American Art Collection
Paintings by John Singer Sargent,
Edward Hopper, Robert Henri,
Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Moran,
William Keith, Mary Cassatt,
Thomas Hart Benton and many more.

Huntington Library Art Collection Pasadena
San Diego
San Diego Museum of Art
Permanent Collection
San Diego Museum of Art Thumbnail

Palm Springs
Palm Springs Art Museum

Permanent Collection
American 19th century Landscape Painting

Palm Springs Art Museum Thumbnail
Phoenix, AZ
Phoenix Art Museum
an excellent sampling of
Artists of the American West
Phoenix Art Museum Los Angeles
California African American Art Museum
adjacent to the LA Coliseum
(see our newsletter articleof their
Ernie Barne's Exhibition September 2019)


California African American Art Museum
& Beyond
Honolulu, HI
Honolulu Museum
(see our Newsletter article
from February, 2015)


Honolulu Museum of Art Kamuela, HI (Big Island)
Issacs Art Center
65-1268 Kawaihae Road
Kamuela, HI  96743
(See our Dec '16 article "Hawaii's Paul Gauguin," 
modernist Madge Tennent, 1889-1972)

Isaacs Art Center
Seattle, WA
Seattle Art Museum
( see our article Mar 2018
French and American Paintings )
Seattle Art Museum Portland, OR
Portland Art Museum

Permanent Collection: American Art
Portland Art Museum Thumbnail
Washington D.C.
The Renwick Gallery

Permanent ... Grand Salon Paintings
from the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Renwick Gallery Washington DC Chicago, IL
Art Institute of Chicago
Permanent collection:
the Impressionists
Art Institute of Chicago Thumbnail
Cedar Rapids, IA
The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art
Grant Wood: In Focus

is an ongoing permanent collection exhibition.
Cedar Rapids Museum of Art

Bentonville, AR
Crystal Bridges
Museum of American Art

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Washington D.C.
The National Gallery

Permanent collection
American Paintings
Tha National Gallery Washington DC Thumbnail Philadelphia , PA
The Philadelphia Museum of Art
Philadelphia Museum of Art Thumbnail
Philadelphia , PA
Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia Campus
Barnes Foundation Campus Philadelphia Brooklyn, NY
The Brooklyn Museum
American Art
Permanent Collection
The Brooklyn Museum Thumbnail
New York , NY
The Whitney Museum of American Art

The largest selection of works by Edward Hopper
The Whitney Museum of American Art New York New York , NY
Metropolitan Museum of Art

Its extensive collection of American Art
Metropolitan Museum New York
Detroit, MI
Detroit Institute of Arts
American Art
Permanent Collection
Detroit Institute of Arts Ottawa, Ontario
National Gallery of Canada
Canada National Gallery of Art
Denver, CO
Denver Art Museum
Monet, the Truth of Nature
through Feb 2
Denver Art Museum Exterior


 

By appointment only or online ... email or call ... Art@BodegaBayHeritageGallery.com / 707-875-2911

... IN GRATON, CA ...
Linda Sorensen's studio and Bodega Bay Heritage Gallery's showroom is now located in Atelier One, Graton. You may view paintings in Linda Sorensen's or Bodega Bay Heritage Gallery's online offerings. Call or email for an appointment (required for access).

... IN YOUR HOME ... Call or email for a an appointment. If appropriate, we'll bring the art to you (up to 200 miles from Bodega Bay).

... ONLINE ... Call or email about pieces which interest you. We offer FedEx shipping (included in price) in the U.S. for major purchases.


At present, we are acquiring few paintings. We are interested in considering works by Joshua Meador, or exceptional paintings by a few other Historic California artists. We do not do miscellaneous consignments but do represent artist estates. We do not provide appraisal services.

DO NOT CALL AND EXPECT A THOUGHTFUL ANSWER REGARDING YOUR PAINTING (especially, do not leave a voicemail message requiring us to phone you), ... INSTEAD, Please EMAIL US (Art@BodegaBayHeritageGallery.com) along with a high resolution jpeg image of your painting. Include the name of the artist, its title, dimensions and condition. Please include any history or provenance. Rather than responding off the cuff, in a timely fashion we will read your note, do our homework, and write back and let you know if we wish to acquire your painting or we may give you our our ideas on how best to market your painting through other resources.