William Keith

Mount Tamalpais, Marin County, California

circa 1880

A fine tonalist landscape by American artist J. Francis Murphy (1853-1921). Murphy was born in Oswego, New York, he moved to Chicago in 1868, where his father was employed in the shipping industry. In Chicago, Murphy began working as a scene painter in a local theatre and was quickly promoted to lead his co-workers. Largely self-taught, his only training consisted of a few classes at the Chicago Academy of Design. There he became friends with Emil Carlsen and Theodore Robinson, and in 1873, Academy members elected him an Associate; a few weeks later, he became an Academician. His work was first exhibited at the National Academy of Design in 1876, where he was inducted eleven years later.He won numerous prizes, medals and honors for his landscape paintings, which are said to rank with those of George Inness, Alexander Wyant, and Homer Martin. Although his world was a limited one, his landscapes captured the forms of nature and the subtle nuances of the scene. Murphy was referred to as the "American Corot" because of his similarity to the painting style of Camille Corot (1796-1875), one of the original Barbizon...

A fine tonalist landscape with leaves beginning to change by a marsh by American contemporary artist Dennis Sheehan (b. 1950). Sheehan was born in Boston, Massachusetts and went on t...

This artwork titled "Mount Tamalpais, Marin County, California" 1952, is an oil painting on board by noted California artist Jean Martin (Eugenia Victoria Weir Martin) 1906-1986. It is signed at the lower right corner by the artist. The artwork (board) size is 16 x 20 inches, framed size is 24.25 x 28.25 inches. Framed in original wooden gold with grey patina frame, with fabric liner. it is in excellent condition. About the artist: Eugenia "Jean" Victoria Weir Martin 1906-1986 San Diego, California Landscapes, Seascapes artist Eugenia Victoria Weir Martin was a painter and art instructor in Southern California. She was born in Tennessee on March 7, 1906. "Jean", as she was called, was brought to La Jolla, California as a small child by her parents, and remained in that area the rest of her life. Her Father was a businessman in the early stages of the development of La Jolla. He operated a General Store in the early village. They resided in "Windemere", which is now the home of the La Jolla Historical Society. At the age of 10 she studied art with a Mrs. Fletcher, an artist in residence at the 1916 California Exposition in Balboa Park. She also studied at the San Diego Academy of Fine Arts. Early in her career she also studied with Maurice Braun, Alfred Mitchell, Edward Langley...

Gorgeous late 19th century Tonalist landscape painting of foothills and oak trees in the style of Willard Leroy Metcalf circa 1900. Inscribed "M" in circle monogram lower left corner and on frame verso. Presented in original rustic giltwood frame. Image size: 6"H x 8"W. Framed size: 8.5"H x 10.5"W. Tonalist are usually intimate works, painted with a limited palette. Tonalist paintings are softly expressive, suggestive rather than detailed, often depicting the landscape at twilight or evening, when there is an absence of contrast. Tonalist paintings could also be figurative, but in them, the figure was usually out of doors or in an interior in a low-key setting with little detail. Tonalism had its origins in the works of the French Barbizon school and in the works of American painters who were influenced by them. California Tonalism was born when the emphasis in California landscape painting passed from the grand landscapes of works like those of Thomas Hill and William Keith's early career, to more intimate views of a domesticated landscape. At the same time, the parallel Pictorialist Photography...