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Author: Strong, Ray
Title: California Spring - Original oil on canvas
Place Published:
Publisher:
Date Published: 1946
Description:

Original oil on canvas, approximately 66x81.5 cm (26x32"), framed. Overall 37.5x94 cm  (30½x37¼"). Signed and dated at lower right. Title in ink on rear of stretcher and again on small tape label on rear of frame. Signed and dated at lower right.

A wonderful scene of the rolling green hills of California in the Spring. Ray Stanford Strong (1905-2006) was born in Corvallis, Oregon, the youngest of three brothers. Strong was educated at the California School of Fine Arts in San Francisco and the Art Students League of New York. He later founded the San Francisco Art Students League and participated in the Works Progress Administration during the 1930s. He wanted to travel to Spain to fight in the Spanish Civil War but was persuaded by his friend Ansel Adams to remain in the United States and paint. Strong's 1934 painting, Golden Gate Bridge, was chosen by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to hang in the White House. His paintings usually depict the California landscape. He had a commitment to the environment and was part of the Oak Group which opposed the encroachment of the oil industry onto the local landscape. Several of his paintings are in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. To mark his 100th birthday a tribute was made to Ray Strong in the U.S. House of Representatives by Lois Capps, describing him as "a talented artist, generous teacher and role model to many." Strong continued to paint in his studio, close to the entrance to Sequoia National Park, until shortly before he died, age 101 on July 3, 2006.

Unrestored, as found. Some staining on rear of canvas, not visible on the front.