Over the past 16 years, our Bodega Bay Heritage Gallery Newsletter has brought you fascinating stories of special exhibitions at the de Young, the Legion of Honor, and the Crocker Art Museums. In this issue—and across the next two—we’re excited to revisit those extraordinary shows, spotlighting two or three standout paintings from each and sharing the original articles I wrote at the time.

The vision and dedication behind these exhibitions are truly awe-inspiring. To assemble and showcase these masterworks in Northern California required bold vision, deep research, and relentless logistical coordination. Without these curated shows, most of us would never have the opportunity to view such art up close.

Looking back, it's remarkable how many unforgettable works have passed through our local museums. We’re privileged to have experienced them, and we owe a heartfelt thanks to the curators and institutions who made it all possible. I hope this series will help us appreciate those exhibitions once again—and inspire new admiration for the people who worked so hard to create them.

San Francisco’s Legion of Honor has hosted an incredible variety of memorable exhibitions. Over the last 15 years, I was able to attend twelve of these exhibitions. They featured an amazing mix of world-class art. From each of exhibitions, I have chosen two or three of my personal favorite paintings to share with you.

The Legion's Dutch and Flemish Masterworks exhibition brought together a stellar cast of Dutch Golden Age talent—Rembrandt, Frans Hals, Hendrick Avercamp, Frans van Mieris, and Gerrit Dou. Collected by Eijk and Rose-Marie van Otterloo, these paintings offer a vivid, sometimes cheeky glimpse into 17th-century Dutch life, from fine lace and polished pewter to the everyday business of trade.

While much of European art at the time was busy staging epic battles between saints and satyrs, the Dutch had other ideas. Their new art buyers—successful merchants with a taste for the good life—weren’t interested in mythology. They wanted paintings that looked like home. Dutch artists responded with astonishing detail, warmth, and a knowing wink—turning simple interiors, market stalls, and frozen canals into timeless masterpieces.

Looking back, I think this exhibition sparked my lifelong love of Dutch painting. Since then, I’ve leapt at every chance to admire their work—from exhibitions at the Met in New York to the Dutch galleries at the Louvre in Paris. These painters still astonish me—their wit, humor, composition, and amazing painterly skill, brushstroke by brilliant brushstroke. A trip to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is definitely on my bucket list.

Pissarro's People offered a fresh and intimate look at Camille Pissarro’s life, focusing on his portrayals of people—from peasants to family members. While he is celebrated for his street scenes of Paris and the rural French countryside, this exhibition emphasized his humanism and deep social conscience.

Camille Pissarro was one of the avant-garde group of French Impressionists. He was the only painter to exhibit in all eight of the Impressionist exhibitions held between 1874 and 1886.

His early work reflected the influence of Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot and the Barbizon School, but by the 1870s Pissarro had embraced plein air painting and the vibrant color palette and brushwork characteristic of Impressionism.

In 2013, San Francisco hosted the America's Cup Yacht Race in San Francisco Bay. To honor the event, the Legion of Honor presented an exhibition, Impressionists on the Water, featuring works by Claude Monet, Gustave Caillebotte, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Camille Pissarro.

The exhibition highlighted the French Impressionists’ fascination with recreational and competitive sailing, a developing sport in 19th-century France. Gustave Caillebotte was the most avid competitive sailor among the Impressionists, but Claude Monet often painted boats on the river and even had a studio boat, which he used to paint scenes along the shoreline.

In 2013, San Francisco put on its best face to host the America's Cup. The waterfront became a world-class stage for international sailing. There were lively fan villages at Piers 27/29 and Marina Green, offering free public viewing areas with concerts, food festivals, and high-tech exhibitions. Museums mounted nautical-themed shows, including this exhibition at the Legion. It was a magical time. A truly festive spirit swept through the city as sleek catamarans raced dramatically against the backdrop of the Golden Gate.

Intimate Impressionism showcased over 70 Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings from the National Gallery of Art, with works by Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, Berthe Morisot, Edgar Degas, Henri Fantin-Latour, Paul Gauguin, Édouard Vuillard, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Alfred Sisley.

There’s a quiet intimacy to The Fence (above). Pissarro doesn’t give us a grand vista or heroic scenery; instead, he leads us down a muddy path next to a sagging old fence that’s seen better days. He paints this seemingly dull scene like a love letter to the everyday. The trees are bare, the sky is gray, and the mood lies somewhere between the malaise of late winter and the early optimism of spring. It’s humble, heartfelt, and just a little wistful.

Early in his career, redhead Carmen Gaudin (left) was Toulouse-Lautrec's favorite model and muse. Unlike the glamorous dancers and cabaret stars he painted later, Lautrec portrayed Carmen with raw honesty—as a working-class girl with striking red hair, self-contained and touched by weariness.

Édouard Manet’s Oysters (below) transforms a simple table setting into an occasionally affordable self-indulgence. Arranged with simple elegance, these glistening oysters, bright lemons, and modest salt cellar are appetizingly displayed. Loose, painterly brushstrokes give the scene a tactile immediacy. Stripped of symbolism, this still life isn’t about moral messages—it’s about taste, texture, and the fleeting pleasures of a good meal.

In Pierre Bonnard: Painting Arcadia, Arcadia was not a geographical place, but rather an idealized, mythical idea—a peaceful state of mind where harmony exists between humans and nature. Pierre Bonnard sought to paint the visual poetry of an everyday paradise, a state of feeling, not a place on a map.

In The Demanding Cat (above), Bonnard captured that universal moment when people interact with their cats—an intimate and tender exchange where magic happens between two beings.

In The Dressing Room (right), Bonnard captures a reflection in a mirror—a private moment in which an unidentified woman is unguarded. She’s naked and comfortable, with no clothes, no makeup, and no concern about how she is being perceived. It’s that special private time when she can simply be herself: quiet and alone.

In The Large Garden (below), Bonnard composes an Arcadian scene—the theme of this exhibition.

Through his vibrant colors and fluid brushwork, Bonnard transforms a simple garden into a serene, poetic space where light and nature merge. This painting invites viewers to experience a personal paradise—an everyday Arcadia suffused with warmth, tranquility, and the fleeting beauty of ordinary moments, with children playing, chickens pecking, and the watchful family dog.

In October of 2016, the Legion of Honor unveiled The Brothers Le Nain: Painters of 17th-Century France, the first major U.S. exhibition dedicated to the work of these remarkable siblings. The show featured over forty paintings by the Le Nain brothers.

Antoine (1600–1648), Louis (1603–1648), and Mathieu (1607–1677) Le Nain—according to updated dates from the National Gallery in London—were known for their portraits and genre scenes. By 1630, all three had settled in Paris, working out of a shared studio founded by Antoine, the eldest.

Their early work focused on religious themes, but by the 1640s they had shifted to secular genre scenes depicting peasant life. The brothers painted in a closely aligned style and signed their works simply “Le Nain,” making it difficult to attribute individual paintings—many of which were collaborative efforts.

Their genre scenes are striking for their realism and empathy. The peasants they portrayed are never mocked; instead, they appear dignified, offering viewers a rare, unvarnished glimpse into the lives of ordinary people in mid-17th-century France.

The Legion's Monet: The Early Years was the first major U.S. exhibition of Claude Monet’s formative work, spanning 1858 to 1872. With nearly 60 paintings, it revealed a young artist already experimenting boldly with light, brushwork, and modern subjects—well before he fully embraced Impressionism. The show traced Monet’s evolution through French countrysides, wartime exile, and travel to London and the Netherlands, illuminating his encounters with J. M. W. Turner and John Constable. Altogether, the exhibition offered a rare glimpse into the emergence of Monet’s visual language—one grounded in observation, daring, and artistic independence.

Monet’s Quai du Louvre (above) shows his interest in capturing modern Parisian life while exhibiting his emerging Impressionist style. Painted from an elevated vantage point, the scene flattens the bustling Parisian quay into broad, rhythmic bands of trees, pedestrians, and shadow. The figures are more suggestive than detailed, emphasizing motion and atmosphere over narrative.

Renoir’s Portrait of Claude Monet (1875) shows Monet in a relaxed, candid moment—palette and brushes in hand, pausing mid‑stroke to look toward his friend. The window softly lights the scene, contrasting with his darker painting clothes. A sprig of oleander over his head almost appears to be a laurel crown. Its loose, lively brushstrokes bring movement and warmth to the scene, capturing a real moment between them.

The Legion of Honor’s 2017 exhibition Degas, Impressionism, and the Paris Millinery Trade explored the Impressionists’ fascination with fashionable hats as emblems of modern Paris.

Focusing on Edgar Degas’s vibrant depictions of milliners and their creations, the exhibition featured more than 40 paintings and pastels, displayed alongside exquisite period hats by renowned Parisian designers. Degas saw hats not merely as accessories, but as works of art—crafted from silk, feathers, and ribbon—and as symbols of creativity and consumer culture. He regarded milliners not as mere tradespeople, but as artists in their own right. For Degas, hat-making was a poetic expression of labor, elegance, and the rhythm of contemporary life.

Among my favorite works in the exhibition were The Shop Girl by James Tissot and Fashionable Woman by Jean Béraud. Both are lively genre scenes that tell “in-the-moment” stories of Parisian women. In Tissot’s The Shop Girl, a gentleman in a top hat casts a glance—perhaps at the merchandise, perhaps at the shop girl herself. Béraud’s Fashionable Woman captures the carefree joy of a Parisian woman out shopping along the Champs-Élysées—a snapshot of urban sophistication and style during the Belle Époque.

At the Milliner’s shows a quiet, behind-the-scenes look at this 19th century Parisian woman. Obscured by a dark hat with a pink feather, we see a woman shopper as she reaches for another hat on display. This painting is not about hats. Its about this woman's feelings about hats and fashion, and her effort she's willing to invest into looking a certain way.

Eugène Manet on the Isle of Wight is a "straw-hatted" portrait of Berthe Morisot’s brother-in-law, caught in a quiet, thoughtful moment during a family trip. Her soft, loose brushstrokes and light colors beautifully capture the calm, laid-back vibe of life away from the city. Instead of focusing on fine details, she emphasizes the mood and feeling of the moment. It’s a warm, simple glimpse into family life that feels natural and honest.

James Tissot: Fashion and Faith showcases the French painter’s career, spotlighting his love of capturing fleeting moments through women’s fashion, color, and narrative detail. From elegant society scenes in Paris and London—where richly dressed figures convey subtle emotional dramas—to intimate portraits of his muse Kathleen Newton, Tissot’s work reflects a fascination with style as a vehicle for storytelling.

The exhibition traced Tissot's evolution from fashionable chronicler of the Belle Époque to spiritual visionary, showcasing both the dazzling La Femme à Paris series and his later biblical illustrations. Although he painted long before motion pictures, his paintings possessed a cinematic sense of composition using a vivid palette. They show both a deep sensitivity to outer elegance and inner transformation.

In Too Early, Tissot captures a moment of social awkwardness. A group of finely dressed young women arrives at a grand ballroom only to discover they are "too early," an embarrassing faux pas in 19th-century society.

In October, Tissot presents a quiet yet inviting portrait of Kathleen Newton, his Irish muse and companion. Dressed in rich tones that harmonize with the falling leaves, she appears contemplative, lost in thought. More than a seasonal scene, October expresses Tissot's deep affection for Kathleen in this fleeting moment of flirtatious and fun interaction.

Afternoon Tea, or In the Conservatory, Tissot explores themes of romance, social propriety, and psychological distance through a richly detailed social scene. The fashionable setting, with its exotic plants and filtered light, heightens the sense of refinement and emotional complexity. Through gesture, space, and style, Tissot suggests the inner conflicts and constraints of Victorian courtship.

For those who attended Mary Cassatt at Work, the exhibition unfolded like a quiet revolution in paint and pastel. Through nearly 100 intimate and radiant works, Cassatt transformed scenes of everyday care and connection into timeless meditations on women’s lives. Her art is as quiet as a whisper, yet it insists—reminding us that tenderness is a strong and powerful force.

At the Theater captures a young woman seated in a theater box, peering through opera glasses—not at the stage, but across to other members of the audience. She is not only observing others but is also keenly aware that she herself is being watched. Cassatt portrayed this moment of psychological complexity with subtlety and insight. The model for the painting is believed to be her sister, Lydia Cassatt.

Sara in a Large Flowered Hat Holding Her Dog is a tender, luminous portrait of her niece, Sara. Dressed in a delicate pink-and-white frock and crowned with an elaborate, flower-trimmed hat, Sara embodies youthful grace and quiet poise. Cassatt’s loose brushwork and soft palette reflect the influence of Impressionism, while the intimate composition emphasizes the snug bond between child and pet.

In Little Girl in a Blue Armchair, Cassatt consulted with her friend Edgar Degas, who advised her on the composition and may have even helped arrange the setting. The young model is believed to be the daughter of one of Degas’s friends, likely a collector. She appears bored with modeling, her body sprawled across a large upholstered chair in a posture of relaxed defiance. In this painting, Cassatt challenges traditional ideals of childhood and femininity, offering a candid view of a child lost in her own world, unconcerned with the rules of decorum.

Don’t miss this vibrant and thought-provoking exhibition, on view through August 17, celebrating Wayne Thiebaud—one of America’s most beloved painters. While famous for his cakes and colorful cityscapes, this show reveals a deeper side of Thiebaud: his joyful and lifelong engagement with art history.

He called himself “an art thief,” openly borrowing ideas from the greats, from Rembrandt to Monet. Each painting in the exhibition is paired with a placard identifying the original artist and work that inspired it. Thiebaud believed that art isn’t evolutionary—every artist, past and present, contributes to an ongoing creative dialogue.

Tapestry Skirt puts a fun and colorful spin on James McNeill Whistler’s famous Whistler’s Mother. While Whistler’s original—with his mother seated in profile against a plain backdrop—is calm and somber, Thiebaud’s version, featuring his wife Betty Jean, brings the scene to life with bold color and texture. Here, Betty Jean wears a bright, patterned skirt that feels cheerful and modern. It’s a great example of how Thiebaud loved reworking classic images—honoring the original while making it completely his own.

Wayne Thiebaud’s Girl with Ice Cream Cone might seem lighthearted at first glance, but it’s actually a clever nod to Andrea Mantegna’s Lamentation over the Dead Christ from the 15th century. Mantegna’s painting is famous for its dramatic, foreshortened view of Christ lying on a slab, seen from his feet.

Thiebaud flips that idea on its head—literally—by placing a cheerful young girl, feet pointed toward the viewer, enjoying an ice cream cone. It’s a playful twist on a deeply serious image, showing how Thiebaud could take something heavy and reinterpret it with humor and warmth, while still tipping his hat to the greats of art history.