Ray Stanford Strong, West Coast landscape artist

Description

Throughout his long and prolific career, Ray Stanford Strong (1905?-2006) strove to capture the essence of the western American landscape. An accomplished painter who achieved national fame during the New Deal era, Strong is best known for his depiction of landscapes in California and Oregon, rendered in his signature plein air style. This beautiful volume, featuring more than 100 color and black-and-white illustrations, is the first comprehensive exploration of Strong's life and artistry. Through family papers, archives, photographs, and a two-year series of interviews conducted with the artist personally, Mark Humpal traces Strong's journey from his childhood on an Oregon berry farm to his artistically formative years in New York and San Francisco. After moving back to the West Coast, Strong produced important works for the WPA, executed major diorama projects for two world expositions, helped organize the Santa Barbara Art Institute, and served as teacher and mentor for a new generation of plein air artists. Machine generated contents note: 1. Early Years and Formative Experiences -- 2. Early Studies in California and Arizona -- 3. New York -- 4. San Francisco Years -- 5. Eric Thomsen, the Cooperative Movement, and John Steinbeck -- 6. Berkeley Years -- 7. Oregon Opportunities and Other Postwar Exploits -- 8. Mill Valley: Big Ideas and Big Challenges -- 9. Art Activities in Mill Valley -- 10. 1950s: Travels and Other Adventures -- 11. Santa Barbara and Museum Commissions -- 12. Project 400 -- 13. Teaching, Lecturing, Demonstrating -- 14. Canadian Rockies, GOO, and Banks -- 15. Revival and Return.