THE MISSIONS A N D E A R LY CA L I F O R N I A B U I L D I N G S
AUGUST 3 - SEPTEMBER 30, 2006 In 1769, the Spanish government decided to extend its sphere of influence into Alta California with a string of missions established by the Fransiscan monk, Junipero Serra. Now over 200 years old, these structures create an architectural reference known the world over. Constructed of indigenous materials and designed as both structures of utility and as symbols of Spain’s spiritual and cultural authority, the missions in Nueva California evolved a distinctive architectural vocabulary. While each mission employed a different design, the thick adobe walls, red clay tile roofs, arches, and the heavy exposed wood beams became signature elements of the mission style. Unfortunately, the buildings constructed in this manner were no match for Mother Nature. In a series of earthquakes in December of 1812, five missions sustained serious damage. Other missions deteriorated from simple neglect. Interest in the missions remained low until the 1870s, when photographers and trained artists began to record all twenty-one sites along El Camino Real. Carleton Watkins completed the first photographic record of the California missions between 1876 and 1900. Edwin Deakin (1838-1923), an English artist who had settled in San Francisco in 1870, began his series of mission paintings in 1878 and completed them in 1898. Deakin painted each mission twice in oil and once in watercolor in a style that celebrated the exoticism and romance of the mission ruins.
Henry Chapman Ford (1828-1894), Santa Barbara’s first professionally trained artist, completed a set of twenty missions and the Asistencia of San Antonio de Pala between 1880 and 1882. To make the missions affordable to tourists, Ford completed fifty sets of highly accurate and finely rendered etchings in 1883. In 1893, he also showed all twenty-one missions in watercolor at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, which helped to ignite the mission revival movement. Through the early twentieth century, America’s fascination with these historic structures grew, spurred along by the plein air school and the public interest in mission revival. Today, California is defined by these missions. Their iconic elements inform much of the contemporary architectural vernacular and many of the cities which grew up around these buildings have become California’s principal cultural and economic centers. To look upon these missions is to stare our history in the face, but is also to delight in our particular sense of place. Sullivan Goss has provided many paintings and etchings to our clients over the past 23 years that have been borrowed back for this exhibit. We have also assembled dozens of mission images that we reserved in our warehouse for this exhibit. And finally, we wanted to know how artists today looked at these buildings. We are indebted to the nine contemporary painters who visited the 21 missions and contributed nearly 40 new views of the missions of California.
HENRY CHAPMAN FORD (1828-1894) | Mission San Carlos Borromeo, c. 1880 | 17 x 30 inches | oil on canvas
HENRY CHAPMAN FORD (1828-1894) | Mission San Fernando, 1883 | 6.825 x 12.875 inches | etching (PART OF A COMPLETE SET OF 20 MISSIONS + THE ASISTENCIA DE SAN ANTONIO DE PALA, #4 OF 50. SET INCLUDES ORIGINAL LEATHER FOLIO.)
EDWARD BOREIN (1872-1945) |Mission Carmel - Etching No. 258, ND | 8.5 x 12.25 inches | etching
UNATTRIBUTED | Mission Dolores, 1882 | 20 x 30 inches | oil on canvas
JOHN SYKES (1859-1934) | San Antonio de Pala - 1816, c. 1890 | 22 x 36 inches | oil on canvas
GEORGE GARDNER SYMONS (1861-1930) | Mission San Juan Capistrano, c. 1895 | 14 x 22 inches | oil on canvas
JAMES ARTHUR MERRIAM (1828-1894) | California Mission, 1930 | 24 x 30 inches | oil on board
NELL BROOKER MAYHW (1876-1940) | Mission San Luis Rey, c. 1914 | 11.75 x 17.25 inches | etched monotype
NELL BROOKER MAYHW (1876-1940) | Mission San Luis Rey, c. 1915 | 9.5 x 21 inches | etched monotype
EMIL KOSA, SR. (1876-1955) | Santa Barbara Mission, c. 1925 | 24 x 30 inches | oil on board
ABOVE: WAYNE LACOM (b. 1922) | Santa Barbara Mission, 1959 | 13.75 x 21 inches | watercolor on paper LEFT TOP: PAMELA ENTICKNAP (b. 1966) | Windblown Soledad, 2006 | 9 x 14 inches | oil on canvas LEFT BOTTOM: JON FRANCIS (b. 1940) | Sonoma Mission Nocturne, 2006 | 20 x 24 inches | oil on canvas
ROBIN GOWEN (b. 1957) Evening At La Purisima, 2006 36 x 24 inches | oil on linen
ANGELA PERKO (b. 1958) La Purisima Concepcion, 2006 20 x 10 inches | oil on canvas
ANGELA PERKO (b. 1958) | Santa Barbara Mission with Palms, 2006 | 40 x 30 inches | oil on canvas
SARAH VEDDER (b. 1946) | Evening At La Purisima, 2006 | 24 x 36 inches | oil on linen
TERRY DELAPP (b. 1934) | Mission San Antonio, 2006 | 24 x 32 inches | acrylic on canvas
CHARLES S. WARD (1850-1937) | Ruins, Mission San Juan Capistrano, c. 1890s | 11 x 15 inches | oil on canvas
ARTIS T S INCLUDED IN THIS EXHIBIT: Arthur Beaumont, Edward Borein, Ray Cuevas, William Dampier, Edwin Deakin, Terry Delapp, H.J. Drueger, Henrietta Marshall Latham Dwight, Pamela Enticknap, Nora H. Fennell, Henry Chapman Ford, Jon Francis, Robin Gowen, Emil Kosa Sr., Wayne Lacom, John Nelson Marble, Frederick W. Martin, Nell Brooker Mayhew, James Arthur Merriam, Angela Perko, Thorwald Probst, Nicole Strasburg, John Sykes, Sarah Vedder, Lawrence Viola, and Charles S. Ward
T O P R E V I E W A L L O F T H E WO R K S O N L I N E , P L E A S E V I S I T: http://www.sullivangoss.com/exhibits/california-missions.asp
SULLIVAN GOSS AT NIGHT
NICOLE STRASBURG (b. 1966) | Santa Inez, 2006 | 8 x 10 inches | collagraph
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 2
ND
FROM 5-7PM | 7 EAST ANAPAMU, SANTA BARBARA, CA We are staying open late to welcome artists, collectors, and interested community members to come explore our extensive exhibition and sale of paintings, watercolors, and prints of the California missions as well as solo exhibitions for contemporary artists, Hank Pitcher and Alia El-Bermani. The night will feature a chance for good conversation, refreshments, and a no host bar. Please join us.
Sullivan Goss AN AMERICAN GALLERY
7 East Anapamu Street Santa Barbara, CA 93101 (805) 730-1460 P L E A S E VISIT OUR NEW WEBSITE: h t t p : / / www.sullivangoss.com
COVER: EDWIN DEAKIN (1838-1923) Santa Barbara Mission and Gate with View to Channel, c. 1880 16 x 24 inches | oil on canvas
Prsrt Std. U.S. Postage PAID Santa Barbara, CA Permit No. 553