Edgar Payne
(1882-1941)
"Indian Riders"
Oil on canvas laid to canvas
Signed lower left: Edgar Payne; titled on a label affixed to the stretcher
25" H x 30" W
Other Notes: A torn label is affixed to the stretcher behind a transparent protective cover. An inscription on the right stretcher reads: LFW / Mar. 30 / 1946


From the sparkling waters of France and Italy and the snow-swept peaks of the Swiss Alps to the rolling hills of California and sun-kissed desserts of the American Southwest, American painter Edgar Alwin Payne captured it all on canvas in an illustrious career as one of the United Statesí preeminent Impressionist painters.

From the age of fourteen Payne dreamed of being an artist. Born in Missouri, in his late teens Payne traveled through the American South and Midwest painting murals and stage sets, before a minute stint at the Chicago Art Institute in 1907. Like many expressive artists of his time, Payne became bored with the rigid structure of academic art institutions and became a self-taught artist. Payne worked and lived as an artistic nomad, moving between California and Chicago, taking commissions, working on large-scale murals, and, in 1912, marrying fellow artist Elise Philippa Palmer.

In 1918 the couple settled in Laguna Beach, California, becoming an integral part of the burgeoning art community that was taking root there. Payne helped found the Laguna Beach Art Association in 1918, and became the organizationís first president. From his home base in southern California, Payne ventured out into the California mountains, painting striking scenes of the peaks and valleys of the Sierra Nevada. Payne took on numerous commissions and exhibited throughout the Mid- and Western United States.

Commissions began to wane after the stock market crash of 1929, and from 1930 onwards Payne made painting the Sierra Nevadaís his primary subject matter. He spent an excessive amount of time finding the perfect angle, the perfect lighting, to put to canvas. His love of the Sierra Nevada was unrivaled, and even produced a documentary film, ìSierra Journey.î Diagnosed with cancer in 1942, Edgar Payne passed away in 1947, leaving behind an unrivaled legacy of American landscape painting.

Edgar Payneís works are included in the collections of numerous institutions including the Laguna Art Museum, the Pasadena Museum of California Art, the Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, and the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Paynes Lake in the Sierra Nevada is named in his honor.

Visual: Overall good condition. Occasional pinhead-sized areas of pigment loss along each extreme edge, with a 0.75" H x 0.125" W spot in the extreme lower right edge. A pinhead-sized spot of grime in the upper right quadrant in the blue pigment. The canvas has been relined.

Blacklight: No evidence of restoration.

Frame: 33.25" H x 38" W x 2.5" D Condition reports are offered as a courtesy and are typically published in Moran's catalogue or can be made available upon request. The absence of a condition report does not imply that an item is free from defects or restoration, nor does a reference to particular defects imply the absence of others. Buyers are responsible for determining to their own satisfaction the true nature and condition of any lot prior to bidding. Though buyers are not legally required to inspect lots prior to purchase, failure to do so may constitute a waiver of complaint that an item was not delivered in a condition equal to the existent condition at the auction.