Picasso (1881 - 1973) achieved success in a wide variety of styles in both painting and sculpture. From early in his childhood in the 1880's in the city of Málaga in the Andalusian region of Spain until his passing in Mougins in the South of France in 1973, his genius seamlessly exhibited an openness to experiment with a variety of theories, styles, techniques and ideas. Modern scholars divide the styles of his career into periods, all in an effort to grasp and understand his magic.

In the middle of the 1920's, Picasso was working with Surrealists (1925-1930's) , although he never liked being labeled as one. But appealing to Picasso was Surrealism's challenge of dealing with physical and psychological states through exaggerated use of imaginary form and distorted perspective.

The whole of Picasso's career is far greater than the confines of one period. These periodic divisions only an aid in understanding the entirety of his artistic life. Throughout he worked in a variety of styles, often merging influences and languages of style in later works. He was prolific, avant-guarde, and individualistic, an artist for the ages.

So make plans now to visit the de Young and enjoy this grand opportunity. The de Young offers you the rare opportunity to view masterpieces from each of his artistic periods, abstract from each a portion of his genius, and reassemble them into your own appreciation of Picasso.

Redfield compared his painting to a newspaper photograph, illustrating something which actually occurred. This painting once was exhibited at the James A Michener Art Museum, an institution which appreciates great story telling. From across the gallery, one could not help but notice that as museum visitors viewed this painting, they seemed to blend with the painted silhouettes of the crowd gathered to watch the blaze.

The exhibit also includes three wonderful works by Norwegian American Jonas Lie (1880 - 1940). During his lifetime, he was one of the best-known American landscape painters, counting among his friends, President Franklin Roosevelt. He was best known for his blend of impressionism with the vigorous and colorful style of New York's Ashcan School.

Photography was not allowed at this exhibition, but here are the titles and artists of some quite notable paintings on exhibit.

Birger Sandzen's Farm on the Smokey is a large canvas, approximately 4' x 8' and is prominently displayed.

Albert Fuller Grave's The Nest Egg 1910 tells the tale a newly married couple standing in a bank dutifully adding to their savings, and striving to achieve their hopes and dreams.

Edgar Payne's Canyon de Chelly exhibits the strength and boldness of the American landscape, easily interpreted as a metaphor for the American Spirit.

Gottardo's father was not pleased in his son's desire to pursue art, but still was supportive. He allowed Gottardo to enroll at San Francisco's California School of Design. Gottardo thrived in his San Francisco studies, and he earned an opportunity to go to Paris and study with the masters. While in Paris, he attended the Ecole des Beaux-Arts and the Academie Julian. There, he shared a studio with fellow Californian Granville Redmond.

Gottardo came home to San Francisco in 1897 and began a successful artistic career. Among his notable accomplishments, he founded the California Society of Etchers and received very good reviews both nationally and internationally. He met and married Beatrice the sister of famed painter Maurice Del Mue. The young couple returned to Europe where he exhibited and received great reviews for his work. While away, San Francisco suffered the quake of '06. Gottardo returned to San Francisco in 1907.

Like most other San Francisco artists, he lost his studio in the quake, and he shared in the community's urgent resolve to rebuild the city. He began teaching at the California School of Fine Arts, but extended his artistic reach far beyond the classroom.

Gottardo had long believed in the unification of art and architecture, and was willing to add his talents in rebuilding the city. He began creating large murals for local buildings, and one of his most famed works was a series of magnificent murals done for the San Francisco Library.

The San Francisco Library had been designed prior to the 1906 quake, but the plans were shelved. After the quake, new plans were drawn by architect George W. Kelham, a graduate of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1896. Gottardo knew George Kelham from his student days in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts. The original murals were commissioned in the early 1930's and remained there for nearly sixty five years. In 1945, the final four murals were commissioned, but were not displayed at the San Francisco Library until 1975, where they remained for just over twenty years.

In 1996, the San Francisco Library moved from its old building into its gleaming new edifice across from the Civic Center Plaza, and the Piazzoni murals had to find a new home. They did! These original 12 murals now have a place of honor in their own gallery at San Francisco's DeYoung Museum. The final four murals are on long term loan to the Monterey Museum, near Piazzoni's beloved Carmel Valley. The Old San Francisco Library is now home to the Asian Museum of Art.

Throughout his successful artistic career in San Francisco, the Piazzoni family often retreated to inspirational beauty and solitude of his father's ranch in Carmel Valley.

Artistically, the work of Gottardo Piazzoni does not fit well into any category. He successfully resisted modernist trends, remaining true to his personal credo, producing powerful works with highly individual expression. An unnamed art critic in Rome back in 1906 perhaps said it best when he wrote, "Any of Piazzoni's pictures is the faithful expression of what he has observed not only with the eye of a draughtsman or a colorist, but also with the feeling that has penetrated his soul. His pictures are chants. Poetry is the essential quality of his work, and it is poetry without ornament, free from all artificiality, simple, sincere, and totally spontaneous."

"Hidden Destination" is right. In an effort to keep down the number of un-wanted visitors to Bolinas, a band of zealous privacy loving residents have long been removing the turn-off sign from Highway One. Cal-Trans has given up replacing the sign, for as soon as it goes up, it soon goes missing.

For over a century, Bolinas has been a painting locale and home for some of the best painters in California. The museum's historic paintings on view at one time are small in number, but present the wealth and richness of Bolinas' art heritage.

Three works of the Bolinas Lagoon were most intriguing done by Arthur William Best, Alfred Fransworth and Jack Wisby. Ludmilla Welch's View of a Mountain Cottage evokes the quiet and beauty known by Mill Valley and Bolinas residents both long ago and even to the present day.

A special treat was Elizabeth Holland McDaniel's Bolinas Embarcadero. The image of this painting is pictured above. Gazing at the original really captures the mood and feel of Bolinas, a blending its fascinating history with its captivating atmosphics. Quite appropriately, in the lower right of the painting is the Bolinas Museum