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new from Linda Sorensen |
Diego Rivera's America now at SFMOMA thru January 2, 2023 |
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Painting of the Month |
Linda's Studio News | Gallery Notes |
Diego Rivera's America now at San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art thru January 2, 2023 / by Daniel Rohlfing |
Linda Sorensen waiting for the doors to open at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art |
Diego Rivera, Self Portrait, 1941, oil on canvas Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA |
Diego Rivera (1886-1957) is revered throughout the art world. His art is rooted in the people and culture of his native Mexico. His images consistently value the common folk, featuring laborers, children, and women. He respects and joyously celebrates the subjects in his paintings. His goal was pure: filling his canvas with the beauty, the vibrancy and the life of the common Mexican people. |
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Diego Rivera, Dance in Tehuantepec, 1928, oil on canvas Collection of Eduardo F. Constantini, Buenos Aires, Argentina |
Diego Rivera, Moon above the Market, 1929, oil on wax on canvas Private Collection, Mexico |
Diego Rivera, Tehuantepec Woman Washing her Hair, 1923 the model is Guadalupe Marin de Rivera, Diego's first wife |
Diego Rivera, The Embroiderer, 1928, oil on canvas The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX |
In 1923 Mexico, no one was put off by the nudity in Tehuantepec Woman Washing her Hair. The painting was seen as a celebration of a tropical paradise, a remote place free of the perils of modernity or the prudishness of middle-class morality. |
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Diego Rivera, The Grinder, 1926, oil on canvas Museo Nacional de Arte, Inbal, Mexico City |
Diego Rivera, The Tortilla Maker, 1926, oil on canvas University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, Dean's Office at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center |
Both The Grinder and The Tortilla Maker feature women in immaculate white dress busy at work in the kitchen, doing the everyday cooking tasks which indigenous people have been tending to for centuries. The blue wall was typical of kitchens in his neighborhood of Mixcalco in Mexico City. |
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Diego Rivera, The Corn Seller, 1926, chalk on paper Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA |
Diego Rivera, Fiesta, 1926, graphite on paper Private Collection |
The Corn Seller holds her bouquet of corn much as the girls in his familiar calla lily paintings. These are lively paintings with the subject embracing the beauty and bounty of nature. |
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Diego Rivera, Flower Seller, 1926, oil on canvas Honolulu Museum of Art |
Diego Rivera, The Flowered Canoe, 1931, oil on canvas Museo Dolores Olmedo, Mexico City, Mexico |
The Flowered Canoe shows people riding in a canoe on a Mexico City canal. The Aztecs built the system of canals before the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century. The canals were used to transport agricultural products, but were also used for recreation. The canoes "trajineras" (flat bottomed boats) were decorated with flowers and were hired for excursions. One can't help but be reminded of Venetian gondolas. |
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Diego Rivera, The Flower Carrier, 1935, oil and tempera on particle board San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA |
Diego Rivera, Scavenger, 1935, oil and tempera on particle board Museo Soumaya, Mexico City |
The exhibition placard for The Flower Carrier reads, "Commissioned by Albert Bender for the new San Francisco Museum of Art (now SFMOMA), The Flower Carrier has been interpreted as an icon of individual effort backed by collaboration and an uplifting representation of Mexico's poor but resilient working class. Every element seems locked in place, in perfect balance; note, for example, how the mass of flowers echoes the curve of the woman's torso and head. Although flower vendors were often seen on the streets of Mexico City in the 1930's, Rivera's omission of any sign of modernity could be seen as perpetuating stereotypes of Mexico as a tranquil pre-industrial utopia." |
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Diego Rivera, Tehuanas in the Market, 1935, oil on linen Collection of The Tobin Theater Arts Fund |
Diego Rivera, Group at Market, 1935, watercolor and ink on canvas St. Louis Art Museum, St. Louis, MO |
In 1935, Rivera was seeking to reconnect with Mexican culture after having spent an extended period working in the United States. Tehuanas in the Market and Group at Market show scenes from the Oaxacan city of Tehuantepec southeast of Mexico City on the Pacific coast. The city was known for its matriarchal society, where women dominated the local markets and were known to taunt men. |
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Diego Rivera, Pinole Seller, 1936, oil on canvas Museo Nacional de Arte, Inbal, Mexico City |
Diego Rivera, The Offering, 1931 Art Bridges |
The Pinole Seller is offering roasted ground maize mixed with chocolate or spices from a lacquered gourd bowl. |
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Diego Rivera, Mother and Child, 1926, oil on canvas Mills College Art Museum, Oakland, CA |
Diego Rivera, Sleeping Child, 1926, oil on canvas Private Collection |
These mothers in Mother and Child and Sleeping Child are most important for Rivera. Their protective spirt nurtures these children who will take charge in the revolutionary future. These mothers are unnamed, but Rivera treats them as Madonnas. Their braids reveal evidence that these young mothers are of indigenous heritage. |
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Diego Rivera, Girl with Coral Necklace, 1926, oil on canvas San Francisco Museum of Modern Art |
Diego Rivera, Child Sitting on a Petate, 1927, oil and wax on canvas San Francisco Museum of Modern Art |
Girl with Coral Necklace and Child Sitting on a Petate features Delfina Flores, a girl of 3 or 4 years old who was a frequent model for Rivera. Her coral necklace was commonly thought to offer protection from "mal de ojo," (the evil eye.) Her embroidered blouse and skirt are of a style typically worn by Nahua women in the town of Milpa Alta, outside Mexico City. |
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Diego Rivera, Seated Girls, 1928, oil on canvas Private Collection |
Diego Rivera, Frida's Friend, 1931 Nader Museum, Miami, FL |
Seated Girls features Diego Rivera's daughter Guadalupe, known as Pico. She sits next to a barefooted girl who is possibly the daughter of Luz Jimenez, one of Rivera's models. |
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Diego Rivera, Portrait of Roberto Rosales, 1930, oil on canvas Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College Poughkeepsie, New York |
Diego Rivera, My Compadre's Children, 1930 Coleccion Banco Nacional de Mexico |
Portrait of Roberto Rosales This portrait is rare because we know the subject's first and last name, no other information. |
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Diego Rivera, Portrait of Lucretia, 1926, oil n canvas Private Collection |
From our Dec 2017 issue |
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Frida Kahlo, Frida and Diego Rivera, 1931, oil on canvas San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA |
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Frida Kahlo, Portrait of Mrs. Jean Wight, 1931, oil on canvas Collection of Gretchen and John Berggruen, San Francisco |
Frida Kahlo, Portrait of Dr. Leo Eloesser, 1931, oil on masonite University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine, Dean's Office at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center |
While Diego worked on his commissioned San Francisco murals, Frida painted. Mrs. Jean Wight was the wife of artist Clifford Wight, a technical assistant to Rivera in San Francisco and beyond. No doubt, Frida painted Mrs. Wight while their husbands worked on murals. Jean Wight is seated in front of an open window with a green curtain partially drawn to reveal a dense skyline, possibly from Diego and Frida's San Francisco apartment. The "trompe l'oeil paper scroll" at the bottom of the portrait, a convention adopted from 19th century Mexican paintings, identifies Mrs. Wight, the date, location and the artist. |
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Diego Rivera, Still Life and Blossoming Almond Trees, 1931 Fresco on steel frame base, Stern Hall, University of California, Berkeley, CA |
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Diego Rivera, Allegory of California, 1930-31, mural, Diego Rivera's first SF commission, stairway of the Pacific Stock Exchange (depicted at this SFMOMA exhibition by a wall-sized projection) |
Allegory of California was painted in the stairway of the Pacific Stock Exchange Luncheon Club (now City Club). At the time, it was feared Rivera would paint anti-capitalist themes into the fresco, but the final product wasn't as anti-capitalist as critics feared. |
Diego Rivera, Portrait of Edsel B. Ford, 1932, oil on canvas mounted on masonite, Detroit Institute of Arts |
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After leaving San Francisco, Diego and Frida traveled to Detroit. Their work in Detroit was mostly financed by Edsel B. Ford, Henry Ford's son, now president of Ford Motor Company. This portrait was based on a 1929 photo of Edsel Ford rather Edsel sitting for the portrait. Ford is behind a drafting table and the chalkboard behind him shows the 1933 Speedster Edsel helped design. Rivera painted Portrait of Edsel B. Ford after Ford gave Rivera a four door sedan as a gift. But Diego and Frida never learned how to drive, relying on chauffeurs and assistants. |
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Diego Rivera, Man at the Crossroads, 1934, fresco mural (15 3/4 feet by 37 1/2 feet). was commissioned by and soon plastered over and destroyed by Nelson Rockefeller. Rivera was angered by Rockefeller's request to remove an image of Vladimir Lenin (center right). Later, Diego Rivera repainted the composition in Mexico under the name, Man, Controller of the Universe. This fresco is now at the Palace of Fine Arts, Mexico City. |
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In 1934, Diego Rivera traveled to New York to paint Man at the Crossroads at Rockefeller Center. A three paneled work, this mural showed aspects of contemporary social and scientific culture. A worker in the center panel controls machinery. The panel on the left The Frontier of Ethical Evolution represented socialism while the panel on the right The Frontier of Material Development represented capitalism. |
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Diego Rivera, Man Controller of the Universe (or Man in the Time Machine), 1934, fresco, 4.85 x 11.45 meters in the Palacio de Bellas Artes, Mexico City, Speakers: Dr. Beth Harris and Dr. Steven Zucker. Created by Beth Harris and Steven Zucker. |
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Diego Rivera, Study for "Man at the Crossroads", 1932, ink, charcoal and gouache on paper Museo Anahuacalli, Mexico City |
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Diego Rivera, The Seventh of November, Moscow, 1928 San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio, TX |
Diego Rivera, Opponent of Nazisim, 1933, fresco on steel mesh and Celotex panel in wood framework, Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, Los Angeles, CA |
In Mexico, Diego Rivera was interested in the urban proletariat. But in 1927-28, he was a delegate to the 10th anniversary celebrations of the Bolshevik Revolution, and he witnessed the organization of the proletariat on a massive scale. The Seventh of November, Moscow shows a demonstration in Red Square. |
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Opponent of Nazisim shows a strong and determined worker responding with firmness and resolve to the threat of Nazi Germany. This painting was done nearly nine years before the United States entered the war. |
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Diego Rivera, Third International, 1933, fresco on fiberglass and polyester support in metal framework done in New York for the Communist League of America. The painting shows Vladimir Ilʹich Lenin approvingly looking upon Leon Trotsky, his political heir as he presides over the victorious Red Army marching in Red Square. Below them are six diverse anonymous workers, including one Asian man and one African man, ready to lead the world revolution. |
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After his trip to Russia, Diego Rivera stopped in New York where he painted two small frescoes for the Communist League of America, a Leon Trotsky organization. |
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Diego Rivera, Portrait of Gladys March, 1946, oil on canvas Collection of Michael Audain and Yoshiko Karasawa |
Diego Rivera, Portrait of Lupe Marin, 1938, oil on canvas, Museo de Arte Moderno, Inbal, Mexico City |
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Diego Rivera's Mexico City Studio Photo by Esther Born, 1935 |
Diego Rivera, Portrait of Corliss Lamont, 1954, oil on canvas Lamont Gallery, Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, New Hampshire |
Diego Rivera, Portrait of Frances Ford Seymour 1941 and her daughter, Frances de Villers Brokaw, oil on linen Private collection |
Portrait of Corliss Lamont shows Corliss, who, although he was from a family of great wealth, was a leading socialist and advocate for civil liberties during the Cold War. He was cited for contempt for testimony before Sen. |
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Joseph McCarthy's anti-communist subcommittee in 1953 for refusing to reveal his political associations. In this portrait, Rivera shows Corliss Lamont looking at a reproduction of Raphael's 1506 painting, Saint George and the Dragon. Rivera considered Lamont as a hero who triumphed over evil. |
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Diego Rivera, Girl in Blue and White, 1939, oil on canvas Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, Los Angeles, CA |
Diego Rivera, Man Smoking, 1937, tempera on masonite Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, MA |
Diego Rivera, Woman with Calla Lilies, 1945, oil on masonite Private Collection |
Deigo Rivera, Nude with Calla Lilies, 1944, oil on particle board Private Collection |
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Visitors to SFMOMA's Diego Rivera's America, viewing his Girl in Blue and White, Weaving and Winding Thread |
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Girl in Blue and White, Weaving and Winding Thread all celebrate Mexico's indigenous cultures and their persistence to survive despite centuries of colonial control. Luz Jimenez modeled for Rivera since the 1920's. She was a skilled weaver from the town of Milpa Alta. |
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Diego Rivera, Weaving, 1936, tempera and oil on canvas Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL |
Diego Rivera, Winding Thread, 1936, oil on canvas Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ |
Diego Rivera, Maja Guarino, 1940, oil on canvas, Private Collection |
Diego Rivera, Mandrake, 1939, oil in canvas The San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, CA |
In Maja Guarino and Mandrake, the model is Maja Guarino, the daughter of an obscure Italian painter. She is wearing a wedding dress, but holds objects associated with Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead. Both paintings seem to be caught between the promise of a new beginning with the finality of death. |
Pan American Unity, Fresco, 22' x 75', 1940, The Roberts Family Gallery, floor 1, SFMOMA | |
A truly epic work, originally for the Art in Action exhibition at Treasure Island's Golden Gate International Exhibition in 1940. The public watched as Diego Rivera and his team of artists worked on the mural. The official name of this mural is The Marriage of the Artistic Expression of the North and of the South on This Continent, Fresco on plaster, 22 feet x 74 feet. but it is more commonly known as Pan American Unity, 1940, San Francisco Modern Museum of Art |
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Not to be missed ...
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Diego Rivera's Pan American Unity opening day at its new home at SFMOMA |
Rivera painted this mural on ten steel-framed panels, making it the largest "portable" mural he ever created. This mural is on the move. It is only on display in SFMOMA's Roberts Gallery through January 2024. We will feature this mural in a future Newsletter article, looking at each panel and exploring the array of people and activities Diego Rivera used. |
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Exhibition page, Diego Rivera's America at SFMOMA | Back to the Top |
These Robert Rishell paintings are also available from Bodega Bay Heritage Gallery |
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Robert Rishell's page on our gallery website | Back to the Top |
Linda Sorensen ... ART TRAILS 2022 is here! Linda's Studio at Atelier One, 2860 Bowen St., Graton, Sat & Sun Sept 24--25, and Oct 1--2, 10-5 |
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Sonoma County Art Trails | Linda's ETSY Shop | Linda's website | Back to the Top |
Gallery Notes | ||
Jos Sances' Or, The Whale |
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ART TRAILS 2022 OPEN STUDIOS CATALOG |
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The Flower Carrier, 1935 |
An Exhibition Opportunity for you in San Francisco |
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from our Aug 2022 issue |
A NEW EDWARD HOPPER EXHIBITION
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in Bodega Bay | ||
Bodega Bay Heritage Gallery Showroom Art Trails 2022 Linda Sorensen's ART TRAILS OPEN STUDIO Sat & Sun, Sepember 24-25, 10-5 Sat & Sun, October 1-2, 10-5 open other times by appointment in Graton or Bodega Bay http://www.BodegaBayHeritageGallery.com | Call or Text 707-875-2911 email: Art@BodegaBayHeritageGallery.com |
"Mendocino Coast" Joshua Meador |
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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 |
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Linda Sorensen Paintings LindaSorensenPaintings.com | 707-875-2911 |
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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. http://www.JeanWarren.com / 707-875-9240 |
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What's nearby? in Sonoma, Napa & Marin Counties |
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IN SEBASTOPOL - Sebastopol Center for the Arts ... see website for on-line activities home of Sonoma County's Art @ the Source and Art Trails 282 S. High Street, Sebastopol, CA 95472 707.829.4797 Hours when able to reopen: Tue - Fri 10am - 4pm, Sat & Sun 1 - 4pm |
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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 |
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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 |
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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 |
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IN GRATON - Graton Gallery |
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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 |
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IN Healdsburg - Paul Mahder Gallery http://www.paulmahdergallery.com (707) 473-9150 | Info@paulmahdergallery.com 222 Mill Healdsburg Avenue, Healdsburg, CA 95448 | check for hours |
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Links to current museum exhibits relevant to Early California Art | |||
The Greater Bay Area | |||
The Walt Disney Family Museum -- see website for details 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 -- |
San Francisco ... see website de Young Museum Permanent Collection |
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San Francisco closed, see website California Historical Society |
San Francisco Legion of Honor ... see website -Permanent European and Impressionist Paintings |
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San Francisco open, see website for details Contemporary Jewish Museum |
Oakland ... see website Oakland Museum of California -- ongoing Gallery of California Art -showcasing over 800 works from the OMCA's collection |
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San Francisco |
Santa Rosa |
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Santa Rosa ... see website Charles M. Schultz Museum |
Moraga |
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Sonoma Mission San Francisco de Solano Museum featuring the famed watercolor paintings of the California Missions by Christian Jorgensen |
Sonoma Sonoma Valley Museum of Art ... see website 551 Broadway, Sonoma CA (707) 939-7862 |
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Ukiah Grace Hudson Museum ... see website http://www.gracehudsonmuseum.org |
Bolinas |
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Walnut Creek ... see website The Bedford Gallery, Lesher Center for the Arts |
San Jose San Jose Museum of Art ... see website approximately 2,000 20th & 21st century artworks including paintings, sculpture, new media, photography, drawings, prints, and artist books. |
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Monterey Monterey Museum of Art ... see website Ongoing exhibitions ... Museums Permanent Collection including William Ritschel, Armin Hansen and E. Charlton Fortune http://www.montereyart.org |
Palo Alto ... see website Cantor Art Center at Stanford University |
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Monterey |
Sacramento Crocker Art Museum Open Thurs - Sun, 10-5, masks, ... see websites |
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Sacramento Capitol Museum ... see website Governor's Portrait Gallery Permanent Exhibits (including one of our galllery's favorite artists, Robert Rishell's portrait of Gov. Ronald Reagan |
Stockton's Treasure! The Haggin Museum ... see website -Largest exhibition of Albert Beirstadt paintings anywhere, plus the works of Joseph Christian Leyendecker, Norman Rockwell's mentor. see our Newsletter article, April 2011 |
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Southern California (and Arizona) (for all museums below, see website for hours and protocols. | |||
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" |
Irvine UCI IMCA (University of California, Irvine Institute and Museum of California Art) (formerly The Irvine Museum) The Resonant Surface: Movement, Image and Sound in California Painting ... through Feb 19, 2022 |
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Santa Barbara The Santa Barbara Museum of Art |
Orange Our Golden State: Landscape Paintings from the Hilbert Collection November 9 - April 18, 2022 Hilbert Museum, Chapman University |
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Pasaden Norton Simon Museum -an Impressive Permanent collection, European impressionist and post impressionist paintings See our newsletter from March 2014 |
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. |
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San Diego San Diego Museum of Art Permanent Collection |
Palm Springs |
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Phoenix, AZ Phoenix Art Museum an excellent sampling of Artists of the American West |
Los Angeles California African American Art Museum adjacent to the LA Coliseum (see our newsletter articleof their Ernie Barne's Exhibition September 2019) |
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& Beyond | |||
Honolulu, HI Honolulu Museum (see our Newsletter article from February, 2015) |
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) |
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Seattle, WA Seattle Art Museum ( see our article Mar 2018 French and American Paintings ) |
Portland, OR Portland Art Museum Permanent Collection: American Art |
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Washington D.C. The Renwick Gallery Permanent ... Grand Salon Paintings from the Smithsonian American Art Museum |
Chicago, IL Art Institute of Chicago Permanent collection: the Impressionists |
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Cedar Rapids, IA The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art Grant Wood: In Focus is an ongoing permanent collection exhibition. |
Bentonville, AR |
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Washington D.C. The National Gallery Permanent collection American Paintings |
Philadelphia , PA The Philadelphia Museum of Art |
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Philadelphia , PA Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia Campus |
Brooklyn, NY The Brooklyn Museum American Art Permanent Collection |
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New York , NY The Whitney Museum of American Art Edward Hopper’s New York Oct 19, 2022 - March 5, 2023 The largest selection of works by Edward Hopper |
New York , NY Metropolitan Museum of Art Its extensive collection of American Art |
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Detroit, MI Detroit Institute of Arts American Art Permanent Collection |
Ottawa, Ontario National Gallery of Canada |
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Denver, CO Denver Art Museum |
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For an appointment, email or call ... Art@BodegaBayHeritageGallery.com / 707-875-2911 | ||||
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Bodega Bay Heritage Gallery and Linda Sorensen's studio Bodega Bay Heritage Gallery .com / Linda Sorensen Paintings . com Art@BodegaBayHeritageGallery.com / LindaSorensen@Earthlink.net 707-875-2911 Atelier One, Studio 5, 2860 Bowen St, Graton, CA 95444 (not a mailing address) |
If you wish to sell a painting to us ... |
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