Granville Redmond, (1871-1935)

Poppies and Lupine 20 x 30in framed 30 x 40in

Poppies and Lupine
signed and dated 'Granville Redmond 1914-' (lower left)
oil on canvas
20 x 30in
framed 30 x 40in
Painted in 1914.

Provenance
Adamson-Duvannes Galleries, Downey, California.
William A. Karges Fine Art, Santa Monica, California.
Private collection, Wyoming.

Granville Redmond is one of only a few California artists, who in spite of challenging life circumstances, worked prolifically in the artistic centers of San Francisco, Monterey, and Los Angeles to great acclaim. In his late twenties he attended the California School for the Deaf in Berkeley, California, where he first began his formal artistic training. Following graduation, he was awarded a scholarship to study at the California School of Design, the school founded by the San Francisco Art Association. His teachers there included the Tonalist painters Arthur Mathews and Amédée Joullin. In 1893, Redmond first traveled to France to study at the Académie Julian and over the next four years he studied in Paris, on the Brittany coast and Moret near Fontainebleau. He fell in love with the French landscape and was determined to exhibit at the Paris Salon. Had he not received an urgent call to return home from his family, Redmond would have remained there longer.

In 1898, Redmond returned to California and settled in Los Angeles which was the start of his career in the Southland. He continued to exhibit in San Francisco but soon embraced the Southern California landscape, conceding that its 'scenery excels that of France.' He often painted scenes in and around Laguna Beach, Catalina Island and San Pedro. By 1905, Redmond was receiving considerable recognition as a leading landscape painter and bold colorist throughout the state.

Granville Redmond was best regarded then, as he is today, for his verdant wildflower landscapes, and the present work is a prime example of his talents as the leader in painting elegant depictions of California wildflowers. The sunlit and dappled California Spring landscape suited Redmond's technique well, where his meticulous brushwork could be utilized in every object and color within his paintings. As a compositional technique, Redmond favored the rule of thirds, where the scene is separated into foreground, middle ground and sky. In this painting, simply titled Poppies and Lupine, the viewer's eye is drawn deep into the landscape, viewing the wildflowers along the way, then into a detailed grove of rolling oak trees until eventually reaching the sky. This gives the scene a marvelous depth to its perspective and results in a balanced and brilliant California landscape. Poppies and Lupine is immediately symbolic of the tradition in early California plein air painting and distinguished Granville Redmond as one of the top Impressionist painters.